Police surrounded a home on Bardia St in Belmont, pointing guns at it and using a megaphone to order those in attendance outside.
A woman left the property in extreme distress, saying she had been hiding on the floor for the past two hours.
Around 2.30 pm it became clear that the police were still looking for one person.
Bardia St was cordoned off at both ends for a time. The cordon was lifted at 2.15pm.
Earlier, at least eight police cars, including a dog brigade, were on the scene for more than 90 minutes. Armed officers were seen crouching behind vehicles to take cover.
Police officers communicated with the residents of the house, saying: “this is the armed police”, “we surround the house”, “come to the front door with nothing in your hands”.
At about 12:30 p.m., armed officers – some with shields – stormed the grounds and took their seats next to a police car in the driveway of the house.
In another incident nearby, a witness said: The New Zealand Herald they had seen a bleeding man being arrested on Devonport’s Domain St after a police chase. The incidents are unrelated, police confirmed.
Belmont Intermediate, Belmont Primary, Bayswater School and Takapuna Grammar School were all closed under instructions from the police and the Department of Education. The lockdown has now been lifted.
‘This is not an exercise’
Takapuna Grammar and Belmont Primary said the lockdown had been lifted and their students were safe. Bayswater School said the incident leading to the closure was over, the school was not locked and the students were safe.
Belmont Primary was closed around 11am after the Ministry of Education contacted him about an “armed incident” in the area, on Moa St, director Bruce Cunningham said.
The students had practiced earthquake, fire and lockdown exercises so they knew what to do – “hide under the table or couch out of sight and lock all doors from the inside.”
Students and staff were “fantastic,” he said.
“They took it seriously, we said this was not an exercise. There was no panic.”
Some parents tried to take their children out of school, but there was no need, he said.
Takapuna Grammar students would reportedly have to crawl under their desks, according to a text message a student sent to their parents.
Collision after police chase
Police have arrested one person following an incident involving a stolen vehicle in Devonport earlier this morning.
Witnesses have submitted photos to the Herald of crashed cars at Devonport’s Domain St.
A Devonport resident said she arrived at Domain St around 9:45 am to see a line of police cars.
Then she heard the crash of a car and loud popping of tires. The resident said she thought the police were ready to put down a mat with nails earlier to stop cars.
“A man gets out of the car” [that’s crashed] and runs to a house and knocks out their gate and then runs into the backyard of the property. The man then runs across the street to another house,” she said.
“The man was shirtless and there was a spot of blood on him. I think he was involved in the accident.”
The resident said the man was then apprehended on the street by armed officers.
“He looked in his late twenties and was quite sloppy.”
The resident said she rushed to check on her family in nearby Cambridge Tce because one of the houses where the shirtless man who was detained shared a fence with hers.