By Kim Choe
Police gunned down an armed man in West Auckland last night after unsuccessfully firing a Taser at him.
It’s the second time in a week a Taser has failed to work in a potentially deadly situation.
But police say there's no cause for concern.
The incident occurred after police went to a caravan in New Lynn last night to execute an arrest warrant.
Witnesses heard a series of about four shots followed by shouting. One man, who doesn't want to be identified, said the incident was over within minutes.
“I just came up for a break and I heard a gunshot and I came up here out the front to check what happened outside, and then I saw the police running.”
An officer at the scene told 3 News the man fired the first shot but the area commander will not confirm this. No police officers were injured, but the man was shot in the stomach and is in a serious but stable condition and under police guard at Auckland Hospital.
Police have kept the scene cordoned off this morning, meaning residents of the ten units sharing the driveway are unable to enter or leave.
One of those stuck inside said she believes the man was known to police.
“The police have been here on numerous occasions, but never to this extent,” says Margaret Oppelt.
She and other residents of the normally quiet street have been left shaken by last night's events.
“It's a scary feeling, you know, knowing that it's right here in your neighbourhood. But I've always felt safe here, and it does rattle you a little bit.”
Police said the shootings occurred after a Taser was unsuccessfully deployed, following a verbal altercation with the man.
It is the second time in a week that a Taser has been used unsuccessfully - after last week’s shooting in Christchurch.
“When our frontline staff undergo training, they're certainly alerted to the possibility that from time to time the device will be ineffective when deployed. And that's attributable to issues around accuracy, a failure of both probes connecting,” says superintendant John Rivers.
But police say the recent failures are not a cause for concern - out of a total of thirty Taser discharges so far this year, four have been unsuccessful.
3 News