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Residents are being asked to stay in their homes as armed police patrol the streets into the night, trying to capture a gunman who killed a colleague in Napier.
One police officer is dead, two other policemen and a civilian are in a critical but stable condition in hospital as the armed siege continues at a house in Chaucer Road on Hospital Hill - the main road to the hospital from Napier city.
ONE News reporter Catherine Loft says there is a lot of police action in the area and a large four wheel drive vehicle arrived at the scene with lots of armed offender squad members hanging off the back.
Police say the offender is still in the house and they are describing it as a very delicate situation. They are not sure what the gunman has in his possession but he is known to be a keen pig hunter. He has a lot of weapons and ammunition and police fear there may even be explosives in the house.
Senior Constable Len Snee, Constable Bruce Miller and Constable Grant Diver were on a routine inquiry at an address on Chaucer Rd, Hospital Hill when the incident occurred.
Snee, from Taradale, was fatally wounded during the incident. His body remains inside the cordon around the house and attempts by police to recover the body have resulted in shots being fired at them.
Constable Miller and Diver are both in a critical but stable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.
The men have had surgery for a range of internal injuries, and are in the hospital's intensive care unit.
A member of the public was also shot and is in hospital following surgery on Thursday afternoon.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad says what happened to spark the shooting is unknown and police were alerted to the incident when residents reported several gunshots.
"It followed a routine execution of a search warrant, a routine inquiry where there was no indication that the events would unfold in the way that it has," says Broad.
Some residents have been evacuated and others have been told to stay indoors until the siege is resolved.
Broad says an entire suburb is still cordoned off and the co-operation of those who have been confined to their homes since Thursday morning is appreciated. Anyone who has been told to remain in their home should do so until they hear otherwise from the Napier police running the operation.
Welfare support systems are in place for residents, and also for the families of the injured officers and civilian. Family ask through police that media not contact the victims' families and to respect their privacy at this time.
Dialogue with gunman
Broad says the operation is fluid and the priority at the moment is ensuring that no one else - police or public - are injured or killed. He says police now need to concentrate on containing the offender and entering into dialogue with him.
"I am not going to divulge whether that dialogue has begin."
Broad says it could take some time to resolve the situation and that negotiations are continuing.
Police know who the offender is but will not be releasing any details about him.
Shooting unfolds
The incident broke began just after 9.30am.
Residents say the street where the shooting took place sounded like a war zone, with around a dozen shots ringing through the air not long after children had been heading to school.
Schools in the area were locked down and people were told to stay indoors as armed offenders swarmed the area and surrounded a house. Schools will remain under lockdown until further notice.
There was a woman at the house with the offender earlier in the
day. She has been interviewed by police.
