Rotorua police have shot a man twice in the stomach after he was waving a “four-foot slasher”, and pepper spray and Tasers couldn’t stop him.
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“Staff have then deployed a taser three times in an effort to incapacitate the man with each attempt being unsuccessful”.
UPDATED 4.15PM: Video footage of the moment a man was shot by police in Rotorua has emerged online.
The incident started when an officer driving felt a thump on the side of his patrol vehicle, and after he pulled over, he noticed a man acting suspiciously and holding a four-foot long slasher.
Police believed the man – who was known to them – was affected by a substance, possible methamphetamine, he said. Police then took the man away. The man was requested several times to drop his weapon, but after he did not comply, he was sprayed and hot with a Taser gun.The man then walked towards TeNgae Rd while he was still armed.
Posting to Twitter, police confirmed a man had been shot by officers at a Te Ngae Road address.
Another witness said she heard police ask the man to “get on the ground” and when he didn’t, he was shot. It is strongly believed that the man as under the influence of a substance, mostly methamphetamine. The police hasnotified the Independent Police Conduct Authority and is asking witnesses to come forward in the case.
Shots have been fired in Te Ngae Rd, near the Tarawera roundabout.
A worker at the Redwood Shopping Centre says two men were possibly fighting prior to a man being shot by police this afternoon.
She said it was “terrifying” and “not something you want to see”.
She said the man was tall and appeared to be Maori or Pasifika.
Cordons have been put in place between Vaughan and Allen Mills Rds.
A former Royal New Zealand Air Force medic, a nurse and doctors from a nearby medical centre were reportedly among the first to join police on scene, with one saying he expected the man to live.
“As this is an evolving situation, police will release further information as it becomes available”, said the statement.
“Traffic is at a stand still and is backing up fast”, she said. Two shots can be heard, and the person falls to the ground.
The reporter said a man was on the ground in the median strip and police had blocked off that section of road.
Witness Tysone Stephens said he had heard gunshots, but had not seen any evidence of somebody being hit.
She said there were about eight police cars in the area with officers directing the traffic around the roundabout.
Earlier this week police shot and killed Nick Marshall in Hamilton during a search for drugs and weapons.
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There was a also a police auto with smashed-in windows and an officer walking away holding his head being supported by another officer, he said.
