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Explosives experts are now combing the house of Jan Molenaar who was found dead in his bedroom this afternoon by armed offenders squad members after a three-day siege in Napier.
Police found Molenaar about midday when a team of five entered the Chaucer Road property on Napier Hill.
"It was a last resort," operation head Superintendent Sam Hoyle told reporters at a press conference this afternoon.
Police had tried to use thermal imaging equipment to see Molenaar's body, but "it's fair to say we had limited success with it," Mr Hoyle said.
The officers went into the house about 11am and discovered a number of explosives.
They found Molenaar's body about an hour later, determined he was dead and left the building for bomb experts to disable the explosives.
The body was in a room police had not been able to gain access to or see into.
The discovery of the dead gunman brought an end to a standoff which began more than 50 hours ago, when three police officers executed a search warrant at Molenaar's house.
He reacted by shooting dead Senior Constable Len Snee and seriously wounding Senior Constables Bruce Miller and Grant Diver.
He also shot Leonard Holmwood -- who knew Molenaar -- while he was trying to wrench the weapon out of the gunman's hands.
Immediate neighbours of Molenaar were still not able to return to their homes today while there was a danger the devices might explode, Mr Hoyle said.
The roads within the new cordon are Chaucer Rd South, Guys Hill Rd, Napier Terrace (from Chaucer Rd to Spencer Rd), all of Spencer Rd and Enfield Rd.
Police say the roadblocks will be in place for one or two days
"I understand completely people's frustration with being kept out of their homes. However we ask for patience for this next period while we let the explosives experts work.
"Once they hand the scene to police so we can commence a scene examination we can review our cordons and allow more people to return to their homes."
Mr Hoyle was not able to say how or when Molenaar died, but he did say the body was still in the house.
"Those are both questions for the pathologist and the coroner who will determine ultimately the cause of death."
He was also not able to say what weapons were discovered at the house as the sole purpose for entering the house was to find Molenaar and confirm whether he was alive or dead.
It was revealed today armed police who had surrounded the house only fired two shots on the first day of the siege.
They were fired by one officer shortly after the policemen and Mr Holmwood were fired upon.
Other flashes seen by some members of the public coming from the armed police were from tear gas thrown into the house early this morning.
All other shots fired were from weapons used by Molenaar, Mr Hoyle said.
It was not known if Molenaar was injured by either of the police shots.
It was a "huge relief" that no other police officers or members of the public were injured during the siege, Mr Hoyle said.
"It was still a tragedy for (Molenaar's) family and for police this is just closing the final phase of an operation that was going to go for some weeks yet."
He said there were still questions about the motive Molenaar had for shooting at the four men.
"His actions seem inexplicable and completely out of proportion to a cannabis search warrant."
He hoped to form a clearer picture of Molenaar after speaking with more of his friends and family.
Mr Hoyle particularly wanted to thank the Napier residents for their positive attitude during the siege.
"There has been incredible patience displayed by those displaced people. There has been incredible generosity and kindness shown by numerous people."
There had been more food delivered to the police station than the staff could eat, he said.
"Killing my staff with kindness.
"It's a sign of a community in good heart when everybody pulls together like this."
It had been an "unprecedented" event in the city, he said.
"It has caused fear and tension and we know that people have been scared and concerned. We are hugely grateful for the support we have received and the hard work that many people have done in relation to this incident."
A number of inquiries into the incident will now start to get underway, Mr Hoyle said.
There will be a coronial inquiry, a homicide inquiry into the death of Mr Snee as well an investigation into the wounding of Mr Miller, Mr Diver and Mr Holmwood.
An investigation would also take place into the police operation, including reviewing decisions police had taken during the incident and tactical operations used.
It would also take into account the cannabis search warrant, which brought the three police officers to Chaucer Road at 9.30am on Thursday.
- NZPA
