A man aimed what is believed to have been an air rifle at a student in Manurewa High School today.
At around 2.30pm, while students were walking home from exams, a green tatty-looking car screeched into the Gibbs Road entrance of the War Memorial Park carpark seconds after a group
of about five teenagers sprinted through.
Two men, said to be in their mid-30s, were inside.
A student who was sitting at a playground near the carpark at the time, said the shooter looked as if "he wanted to kill".
"We were sitting there at the swings and then this car just pulled up and a guy stepped out with one of those big telescope guns - like a rifle - and just shot at [the student].
"The shooter - man he looked angry as."
Up to 20 students were said to be in the park at the time, all of whom were yelling at the student to keep running, "the man has a gun", the student said.
"After, he jumped back into his car and they sped off. The shooter was wearing a brown sweater and he had a beanie, with long hair that came down to his shoulders.
"I don't think he saw us. But everybody was just screaming and running away."
Manurewa High School was locked down for 45 minutes as a result of the incident, as police looked for the two men and a helicopter circled the area looking for the vehicle.
The student said a single shot was fired but the gunman missed. Manurewa police released a statement saying that no shots were fired at all and that students involved had reported hearing a "cchhh" sound, signalling what could possibly be an air rifle.
Police say the incident occurred after a group of three teenagers were approached by two men in a green Subaru outside the Homai Bowling Club in Manurewa.
After one man presented a firearm, the three students ran into the Gibbs Road entrance of War Memorial Park, where the vehicle quickly followed.
Police have yet to determine the exact type of rifle used and are still hunting for the weapon, the vehicle and the two men involved in the incident.
The students running from the gunman are said to all be in Year 11 at Manurewa High School.
