Man arrested after incident that led to the closure of a school in West Auckland

An incident that forced the closure of a primary school in West Auckland appears to have ended when a man was taken away by police.

Leisha Byrnes, principal of Lincoln Heights School on Keegan Drive, Massey, confirmed that police advised the school to close at noon on Monday.

Do you know more? Email [email protected] or call the newsroom on 09 374 4752

She did not know what had happened to provoke the action, but armed policemen were on the scene and Things understands they were responding to a firearm incident.

Shortly before 2:30 p.m., the cordon was lifted and parents were allowed to pick up their children from school.

A Things The reporter at the scene said police were taking a man in handcuffs, who was later taken away by officers.

The highway had since been reopened, but some officers remained stationed outside a house on Keegan Drive.

Byrnes said that during a lockdown all the children were hidden inside their classrooms and all the windows and doors were closed.

Then a roll call was made to verify where everyone was and the parents were notified of the situation.

This is the second time this year the school has been locked down, Byrnes said, after it was closed in July following the shooting of Officer Matthew Hunt, which occurred just a few hundred yards away.

A neighbor who lives in front of the police cordon said he was told that a person had reported hearing a shot, but that he himself had not heard anything.

“As a community, of course it is alarming. It’s less than 500 meters from where that poor young cop was shot. I guess that’s why the police take it so seriously, ”he said.

A police spokesman confirmed that there was an earlier incident on the road that was reported shortly before noon.

“Police are still establishing the full set of circumstances for this incident,” the spokesman said.

Lincoln Heights School was closed due to its proximity to the curbs, the spokesperson said.

A spokeswoman for St John said paramedics were assisting police with the call on Keegan Drive.

An ambulance was at the scene, he said, but any further investigation should be directed to the police.