KEY POINTS:
Police have charged a 35-year-old man with three counts of kidnapping after hostages were held at gunpoint in west Auckland this morning.
Officers said there were no serious injuries suffered by the gunman or the hostages and no one was taken to hospital.
The drama came to an
end when loud bangs - believed to have come from police stun grenades - were heard from the scene at a New Lynn panelbeaters at about 11am.
Police said that after almost three hours of negotiation, officers forcefullly entered the building, freed the hostages - the owner and two apprentices - and arrested the alleged offender.
"The arrested man will appear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow on three charges of kidnapping, one charge of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, one charge of failing to stop, and one charge of reckless driving," they said in a statement tonight.
"Police are not ruling out further charges in their ongoing investigation."
Inspector Mark O'Connor, the police officer in charge of the incident, earlier said one of the hostages managed to escape but police had to use force to rescue the other two and arrest the gunman.
It was thought stun grenades were thrown into the building by armed police to disorientate the gunman, who was threatening the hostages with a handgun.
"The man was obviously in a very agitated state and we were in negotiations with him all the time. There were no shots fired," Mr O'Connor said.
"It was an operation that had to use force to effect entry and the rescue of these people."
Mr O'Connor said the man was in a difficult state from the time he was stopped earlier in the morning in the stolen car.
"He was in a very agitated state right from our first contact with him. He made a number of threats to himself and to others, and he was obviously in a really bad state of mind."
Mr O'Connor said the hostages were obviously shocked and were talking to police but did not need hospital treatment.
During the incident the man called one media organisation and made "representations about a spectacular exit and other things".
"It was a very dangerous situation where he had hostages and we had to take a lot of care."
The risk to the hostages' lives was assessed by police as "very serious", Mr O'Connor said. "It doesn't get any worse than this."
Jill Demchy, who owns a bridal store next door to the panel beating shop where the hostage drama was unfolding, was speaking to the Herald as three loud bangs, which she described as sounding like gunfire, came from the building.
She said the noise had come from within the panel beaters. Police had told her to remain in her bridal shop and keep quiet because the gunman was "very agitated".
She said two armed police were on the roof of the building. The woman had heard police trying to coax the man out.
The panel beaters was a small workshop with about four or five employees, she said.
A few minutes after the loud bangs were heard, the woman said the police gunmen on the roof had disappeared and the drama appeared to be over.
"The police are quite casual now," she said.
The incident is understood to have begun about 8.15am when police gave chase to what is believed to have been a stolen Hyundai station wagon.
The chase continued through through Mt Roskill, Blockhouse Bay and Avondale and ended on Portage Rd, New Lynn, from where the man is understood to have fled to the Stock Street factory.
Three people were in the building at the time and attempted unsuccessfully to hide upstairs.
Mr Stock, who runs Stock Upholstery, said he had been told by police that the gunman had "mental health" issues.
Mr Stock, whose business is next door, said that within minutes police had surrounded the panel beating shop.
He said some of his younger staff managed to look into the building where the hostage drama was taking place.
They saw "a chap with a rifle and a couple of other people".
"He was clearly holding a gun. Whether he was pointing it at anyone, we don't know."
Police negotiators were understood to have had trouble dealing with the man, who was unwilling to trust them.
Members of a large media contingent gathered at a police roadblock at the intersection of Portage Rd and Great North Road were threatened with arrest if they tried to breach the cordon.
Armed police sealed off the Stock Street location and parts of Great North Rd and hundreds of cars were being diverted.
About 20 police vehicles were at the scene along with the Eagle police helicopter and police dogs.
It is understood the man - who repeatedly held a gun to his own head - had stopped talking with police a number of times to carry on a cellphone call with a third party.
Armed offender squad staff arrived at the scene about 9.30am
An ambulance also arrived at the scene and fire service staff were initially called to free the hostages from the upstairs room.
- NZHERALD STAFF, NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA
