One of two stray police bullets went through a window at Christchurch community facility Avebury House on Tuesday night when a man was shot twice by officers. Photo / Tanya Didham
One of two stray police bullets went through a window at Christchurch community facility Avebury House on Tuesday night when a man was shot twice by officers. Photo / Tanya Didham
Two stray bullets found in a community house after a shooting involving police and an armed gunman in Christchurch were likely fired by a "panicked" officer.
Avebury House manager Tanya Didham says it's pure luck the incident didn't happen on a different night, as the room that was shot atwould have been in use for yoga classes.
Police forensic investigators scour the grounds of Christchurch's Avebury House for bullets or bullet fragments after a shooting on Tuesday night. Photo / Tanya Didham
However, unbeknown to police, two stray bullets landed inside Avebury House where users were having a meeting in a downstairs room.
Manager Tanya Didham said she'd been told by police the officer who fired the wayward bullets was likely "panicked" by the volatile situation unfolding.
On the night she got a phone call from a security guard saying "there's loads of sirens and fireworks going off at the house".
"Turns out it wasn't fireworks," she said.
She discovered the bullet holes the following morning when she went into work.
"I was on the phone to one of the board members and she said 'you better check the house for bullet holes' and I'm going 'haha very funny'. And then I went into the upstairs Koro Wilding room and thought 'oh wow, why is there glass all over the floor' and then saw there was a bullet hole in the window."
Avebury House was cordoned off with police tape after Tuesday night's shooting. Photo / Tanya Didham
A second bullet hit the adjacent shed which is separated from the building by their driveway.
Avebury House is a community house where various events or classes are held, including yoga. The upstairs room is where yoga classes are regularly held.
"That's quite a common time for people to be using that space. Yoga is there on a Thursday night and we often have people that are doing wellness or meditation seminars. We give them that room because it's the most peaceful, but not on that night it wasn't.
"It doesn't get used every night ... but it was lucky, very lucky."
She said it was simply "fortunate" there was no there, "otherwise it could have been really pretty awful".
"It was kind of frightening. The gunman was facing away from us, the police were facing directly towards the house and when they opened fire obviously we became part of the line of fire."
She said officers would not have known there people in the area at the time as it was "such a high pressure, high adrenaline, high risk situation".
Police check out the shed at Avebury House where a stray bullet was found after a man was shot twice in the lower body. Photo / Tanya Didham
"They were just acting on adrenaline really."
She had spoken to police who told the officer had mostly likely "panicked" and completely missed his target.
"The officer that I spoke to said that he would have been just a bit panicked and he's just fired.
"The gun's either recoiled and it's fired or they were just freaking out themselves, no doubt.
"It indicated to me that the line of fire was really wide and there were a lot of bystanders in that area that they didn't realise.
"To put a bullet in the Cora Wilding, he was definitely not on target."
The building had been cordoned off until earlier today as forensic teams scoured it for bullet fragments or shells. That meant their two weddings scheduled for the weekend could go ahead as planned.
Didham added that she didn't want to come across as though she was criticising police, as they were working in a volatile situation, but suggested they could do with more training.
"I just think they are under-resourced, which means weapons training maybe isn't as comprehensive as it could be. [I'm] just so relieved no bystanders were hurt.
"The police have been brilliant, really approachable and helpful."
As a way to lighten the atmosphere in the neighbourhood, Avebury House had decided to host a "community barbecue" on Tuesday night.
"We thought we'd have a bit of a community get together and shake off the tension. The police are all on board with that ... they're going to contribute to that and Housing NZ people will also contribute as well."
