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Two men are still at large after they shot a police officer this morning, and police now believe it may be related to a kidnapping.
The police car fired in Northland.
Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Police
The shooting took place on a stretch of State Highway 11 inland from Waitangi and south of Kerikeri, around 4.13 a.m.
A police car was driving between hills and farms, near an intersection with State Highway 10 called Puketona Junction, when a car pulled up ahead and stopped.
Two masked men came out with firearms and a shot was fired, damaging the windshield of the police car and leaving the officer unharmed but shocked.
She is receiving support from the Police Association, Vice President Marcia Murray described the incident as an “unacceptable and extremely serious incident.”
“It is difficult for the member involved, the member’s family and all the members in New Zealand,” he said.
“The police are going to work every day to protect our communities. And this has happened as part of their daily work. It is just not acceptable.”
In the hours that followed, nearby residents described waking up to the noise of a tow truck removing the damaged police car, while other police cars raced down the road with sirens blasting.
Buck Lane passed by shortly after 6 a.m. and saw armed officers.
“That was pretty sinister. We could see that something very nasty was going on. Generally, they were just conducting their investigation. Afterward, the coroners came in and were picking up small items from the road and marking them with dye.”
Police said that in a separate incident around 8 a.m., a man sought help in Matauri Bay after being abducted near Kerikeri.
They say a gray Nissan Skyline car was involved in the hijacking, and it was set ablaze at around 4.50 am about 20 km inland from the shooting site.
Police are now trying to find out if it is the same “silver or gray” car that stopped the officer on State Highway 11, and if the two incidents are related.
With the criminals still at large, Far North Mayor John Carter said the community was nervous.
He said it was “disappointing”, “unwanted” and “unnecessary”.
“There is some anger and concern, and in a way it reflects the social problems that we have here. That is why we are all working together to see what we can do to address this particular incident, but also to make sure that as we move forward These things don’t keep happening again, “he said.
In July, Officer Matthew Hunt was shot and killed on the job in Auckland.
In the first week of August, there were two more cases of guns being pointed at officers in Auckland and one incident in which a gun was fired at police from a car window.
Marcia Murray said there was strong support in the law enforcement community for officers to be routinely armed.
He said the incident this morning was an unwanted reminder of the proliferation of firearms in the hands of criminals.
“Gun buybacks took 60,000 of our most dangerous weapons off the streets, but there is still a lot of work to do in this space,” he said.
Northland’s Investigations Manager, Detective Inspector Dene Begbie, said the Far North community could be confident that police were doing everything they could to resolve both incidents “and hold those responsible accountable.”
“We have a very good team of investigators who are working hard to try to identify what happened, at both events, and find the people responsible.”
He said that several criminals were involved in the kidnapping and that the police hoped to have more information about them soon.
Police want to hear from anyone with information, or anyone who has seen a Nissan Skyline with the registration MWD839.
They can contact Kerikeri Police on 105 or provide information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
