Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell
Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell
Children have been let out of four schools which were in lockdown as armed police searched for a person in West Auckland.
Police were responding to an emergency incident at Kelston and said officers were "carrying firearms as a precaution".
Shortly before 4pm a police spokesman said officers were "still working to ascertain the full set of circumstances and our inquiries are ongoing."
But by 6pm, police had found the person involved and were speaking to them, a spokesperson said.
Kelston Boys High School, Kelston Girls College, Kelston Intermediate School and St Leonards Rd School all went into lockdown shortly after 2pm, police said.
"We've got a report of concerns for a person's wellbeing, and we are in the area at the moment making inquiries to try and locate this person," a police spokesman said then.
Due to schools being in the nearby area, police advised them to go into lockdown.
Kelston Girls College Principal Sarah Stenson said police advised the school to go into lockdown this afternoon.
"My understanding is that it was a precaution and they wanted to keep everyone safe," she told The Herald.
"We run regular drills so were able to swing into action smoothly. People were calm and managed the whole situation really well. Training really pays off in these situations. I was proud of the way everyone responded.
A short video clip posted on Facebook appeared to show an armed police officer walking on Archibald Rd.
Kelston Girls College was among four West Auckland schools in lockdown this afternoon due to police responding to an incident. Photo / Google
St Leonards Rd School confirmed earlier it was in lockdown. A post on the school's website read: "Please do not attempt to enter the school grounds."
It said then that all students were safe and accounted for but it was remaining in lockdown "until further notice".
"St Leonards Road School has gone into lockdown as advised by police. We will continue to provide updates on our website as often as possible. Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and student's safety at risk. We will update this website when lockdown has been completed. Thank you."
Akram Aziz, a taxi driver who drives students home from the primary school at the day's end, arrived around 2pm to be told the school was being locked down.
"There was an alarm going, it was a really strange alarm, not like one I've heard before."
A staff member told him no one was allowed to leave the school, but did not say why, he said.
"The school is very quiet. I can't hear anything - it's like the school is empty.
"I can see armed police walking around and I hear a helicopter going around the area."
Parents waiting to collect their children outside St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Akram Aziz
Shortly before 3.30pm a police spokesman said students would soon be allowed to leave the schools.
"Given the end of the schooling day, Police will shortly begin a graduated release of students which is being done in co-operation with the schools," he said.
"This will help with any traffic congestion that may build in the area."
Police inquiries continued into the incident.
But an update on the St Leonards Rd School website said police were releasing students from one school at a time.
Members of the Armed Offenders Squad responded and two people were taken into custody. There were no reports of injuries at the Massey property.
"Police are still working to ascertain the full set of circumstances of the earlier incident and these inquiries will be ongoing this afternoon," police said in a statement.
About 2am another incident occurred outside a property on the same street. Police say initial indications show about eight shots were fired at parked vehicles.
No people were found at the property and there were no reports of injuries.
"This will ... no doubt be concerning to the families living nearby and the wider community," Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldi said yesterday.
