Police officers shot at during west Auckland chase

A man is under police guard at North Shore Hospital and a woman in custody after officers were shot at three times in a four-minute chase in west Auckland overnight.

The drama began after a car approaching a routine checkpoint on Te Atatu Rd in Te Atatu South did a U-turn and drove off at high speed about 11.15pm.

Officers chased the vehicle, which had two people in it, but the driver wouldn't stop.
Moments later, a woman in the passenger seat pointed a gun at the police.

The car stopped and shots were fired. None hit the officers.

The car drove off but was spotted by another police patrol which gave chase.

The woman shot at the second car from the passenger window of the car but missed again.

The pursuit continued and a short time later on Summerland Drive, Henderson, the car collided with the pursuing police car.

The driver got out holding a sawn-off shotgun and shot at the officers, who had taken cover behind the car.

The man and woman ran off.

A large number of police officers had already been deployed to the area and cordons were put in place around the Ranui area.

The Armed Offenders Squad and police dog units began searching the residential area.

About half an hour later, police found the woman trying to leave the cordoned-off area in a taxi. She was arrested.

Officers continued the search for the man, and two hours later he was found hiding under a car in a shed, on a residential property in Munroe Rd.

He still had the shotgun and a police dog was needed to apprehend him.

He has some dog bites.

"I am extremely proud of our officers," said Waitemata Police commander Superintendent Bill Searle.

"This was a very dangerous situation and it is a credit to our staff that no-one was killed or injured.

"From the time the car failed to stop at the checkpoint to the point at which the offenders crashed into our patrol car was a period of around only four minutes.

"In that short space of time our officers have been fired upon multiple times. Our staff have then searched for an armed and active gunman in the dark and have managed to locate and apprehend him.

"They have protected innocent members of the public in the most dangerous of situations.

"We all know that this could have ended very differently and I know that there will be many people who are very relieved this couple have been caught."

No officers were injured.