Man to appear in court after firearm allegedly discharged in Thornton

Photo / File.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with discharging a firearm after a Whakatāne school was put in lockdown yesterday.

Police initally received reports a person with a firearm had driven a vehicle onto a property near Thornton School at 2.24pm on Thursday.

A reporter from the Rotorua Daily Post saw Armed Offenders Squad assisting Bay of Plenty police in Thornton near Whakatāne. She later witnessed armed police walking a handcuffed, shirtless man to a police truck.

Police confirmed a man was taken into custody following an incident in Thornton and there were no injuries.

Thornton School was put in temporarily lockdown.

The man was scheduled to appear in the Whakatāne District Court next Tuesday.