Armed police arrest man in Flat Bush after series of shootings in Otara

Heavily armed police arrested a man in Flat Bush in connection with a series of shootings in Otara.

Police stopped a vehicle in the South Auckland suburb this morning around 10.25am and found live shotgun shells in the car.

The arrest has been captured on camera, which shows three armed officers marching forward with rifles raised to their shoulders.

The images also show a person with their arms raised in the air above their head being commanded by a loudspeaker to walk backwards as the Eagle helicopter flies overhead.

Officers arrested an 18-year-old man and charged him with illegal possession of ammunition.

He will appear tomorrow in the Manukau District Court.

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Another male occupant of the vehicle was arrested on unrelated matters and will also appear in Manukau District Court tomorrow.

A police spokesman said the police had a dedicated team investigating this crime and were pursuing positive lines of investigation to hold those responsible for the shootings accountable.

The arrest took place near a construction site at the intersection of Murphys Rd and Murphys Park Rd.

It comes after at least five recent gang-related shootings in two days in Ōtara, south of Auckland.

The firearm crime spree has highlighted a culture of vehicle shooting and frustrated community leaders who blame poverty and the glorification of the gang lifestyle for the shooting.

Police have confirmed that the five shootings since Friday are linked to and involve an organized crime group.

It led to an increased police presence in the suburb over the weekend, with officers on the streets carrying firearms.

On Friday afternoon, Manukau County Police responded to reports of three incidents in Ōtara in which firearms were reportedly fired.

On Saturday, the police called Ōtara twice again. At approximately 2.24pm, reports came in that a firearm had been fired on Prestons Rd and there were also reports that a firearm was fired around 10pm.