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John Bisset / Stuff
Police have cordoned off an area of Waimate. (File photo)
Schools are closed as police respond to an incident at a property in Waimate in South Canterbury.
At 2:20 pm, a police spokesman said an area of Waimate had been cordoned off “as a precautionary measure.”
The incident occurred in the Mill Rd, Tennant, Shearman and High Sts area.
Stuff has received several reports of police cars with armed police heading south from Timaru and further north.
A Waimate resident reported that roads were blocked at Shearman St and Gorge Road.
Waimate High School posted on social media that police “ordered them to lock themselves in due to an incident they are dealing with on Queen St.
“This will mean that all students / staff / visitors must remain in their rooms and on the premises until the police have given us the order to release the students.”
A spokesperson for Waimate Main School confirmed that the school was also closed.
“We keep the phone lines free for parents to call,” he said.
A witness said the entire block was cordoned off near Victoria Park.
“Access to the lower half of Queen St is impossible. Whatever is happening is having a big impact. The cordon goes on State Highway 81. You can’t take it.”
The person who did not want to be named said he learned of the incident at approximately 1.35 p.m.
“I saw a member of the armed criminal squad crouching next to an oak tree with a rifle. I thought it was some kind of exercise. Then I saw some police cars.
Said the cordon was at Tennant, Shearman, and High Sts.
