Community left reeling after Whangarei tragedy

Elish, Amaya, Tamsin and dad Michael Jordan at the Whareora Hall waiting for the road block to clear. Photo/John Stone

As the police cordon was finally lifted, Michael Jordan's family was among at least 24 families relieved to go home after a tragic day that left their community reeling.

The Whangarei builder lives about 200m from the house where the shootings took place and was relieved "it was all over" and the offender was no longer on the run.

Mr Jordan said as far as he knew, the man had rented the property which had been destroyed by fire.

"He drives past my house but he mostly kept to himself and that's just about all I know of him," he said.

His family were among 24 families of Mount Tiger Rd, Wrack Rd and Owhiwa Rd that went to a welfare centre at Whareora Hall set up by emergency services while waiting for the cordon to be lifted.

Suzanne Casey was also at the evacuation centre with husband Peter Casey and their three autistic daughters because they could not reach their property on Wrack Rd, off Mount Tiger Rd.

When police announced the cordons had been lifted at 6pm, families wasted no time getting their vehicles and heading home.

Several residents caught outside the police cordon gathered at the local tavern to wait until the network of rural roads in the hills between Whareora and Parua Bay were re-opened.

The talk in the pub was much more subdued than usual. Duty manager Tom Donelley described the atmosphere as "a little bit eerie".

Locals were shocked, he said.

While most there were keen to get to their homes and families, they were saddened by the knowledge at least two lives had been lost.

Speaking to the Northern Advocate at 5.15pm, Mr Donelley said no one had any idea what had unfolded at the scene or who the victims were.

He said there was only minor speculation about the gunman.

"No one can figure out who it is."

Along the road, talk of the shooting and the stand-off between police and a gunman had "been the hot topic of the day", said Hannah Sawford, from Parua Bay Service Station.

A few customers were at first annoyed about the road closures.

Some were frightened, but the atmosphere was mainly one of shock when they learned of the shootings, Ms Sawford said.

The local Whangarei District Council member, Greg Innes, said the community had taken reassurance from the high police presence at the Whareora end of Mt Tiger Rd and Parua Bay end of the adjoining Owhiwa Rd.

"This is a tragedy and something we really hope we never see again out here," Mr Innes said.

Mt Tiger Rd resident Christine Fifield said she was driving down Mt Tiger Rd toward Whareora Rd about 11.10am, shortly after the shooting, when she saw a red Suzuki parked in a driveway and a man a few metres away talking on the phone.

At the time she thought the car had broken down and the man was phoning for help.

It was not until she arrived at the cordon that police told her there had been a shooting.

"I'm a bit shaken up to be honest, it's a bit close to home. I've got animals I need to see to and knowing the area, it's a huge area to search to look for [the offender]."

Ms Fifield said the red Suzuki she saw was the same one that had a bullet hole through its windscreen and was driven towards the cordon.

She believed the man she saw on the phone was the man who later drove the Suzuki and was taken to the back of a waiting ambulance.