Locked down: Children hide after shots fired outside Tauranga primary school

Police at the scene after Bellevue School was put into lockdown. Photo / Andrew Warner

A woman has been charged with recklessly discharging a firearm after gunshots in Bellevue forced children at two schools to be locked inside their classes for more than an hour.

Staff and pupils at Bellevue School were asked to stay locked in classrooms and out of sight following reports of a firearms incident outside the primary school at 8.45am yesterday. Otumoetai College and a nearby childcare centre also went into lockdown due to their proximity to the Princess Rd primary school.

Dozens of distressed parents who had been warned of the incident waited outside the primary school to be given the all clear to pick up their children.

Some parents who were walking their children to school at the time had reported hearing at least two shots fired near the school.

Tauranga Sergeant Scott Merritt said a 44-year-old woman had been arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and recklessly discharging a firearm.
Police had also since recovered a shotgun from a Queen Rd address.

Bellevue School principal Dave Bell said the incident happened outside the school grounds at a neighbouring property.

Dozens of distressed parents waited outside the school until they were given the all clear to pick up their children. Photo / Andrew Warner

A lockdown for staff and students was ordered, with everyone told to go inside immediately.

"It was before school, before the bell rang and we followed procedures for all staff and students to go inside and lock the doors," Bell said.

"They were to remain out of sight until we got the call it was all clear."

The Ministry of Education would provide a helpline and counselling to anyone who needed it, Bell said.

Otumoetai College principal Russell Gordon said Bell had alerted him to a firearms incident outside the primary school.

Because the college was 400m to 500m from the primary school they also went into lockdown, he said. "We had no choice but to go into lockdown ourselves."

Gordon said he and another member of the school's management team visited every classroom to alert the students and teachers that Bellevue School was in lockdown.

"Every child was sitting in darkness under window height," he said. "I am proud of the way the students reacted, they coped admirably."

Gordon confirmed the school was also dealing with police following a separate incident last week after an "implied threat" from one of their students.

"That is a totally separate incident."

An email was sent to parents of the college that read: "The school takes any threat seriously and management contacted the police as soon as they became of the issue. The police have since visited this family, spoken with the student concerned and the required help has been arranged."

Gordon warned social media and rumours could escalate and that "everything is under control."

Montessori Otumoetai on Queen Rd also went into lockdown.

Centre manager Shamima Khanikar said staff took all the children inside and contacted the parents after hearing of the incident. Some parents chose to take their children home.

"It was a little bit scary for us but I think everybody stood up – all the teachers, and we gave clear instruction to all the children about what we're going to do," Khanikar said.

"We didn't say what's happening but we just let them know that if a teacher shouts it's an emergency, this the place we're all going to go."

Otumoetai Intermediate principal Henk Popping said he had called Bell regarding the incident and because there was no immediate danger to his students the school did not go into lockdown.

However, he said the school kept an eye on any immediate threats. "We were prepared to go into lockdown if we needed to."

Western Bay of Plenty Area Commander Inspector Clifford Paxton stressed to the public police were not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.

"We understand this has been a distressing incident for the Bellevue community, especially the staff and students at nearby schools," he said.

"The staff at Bellevue Primary School did a fantastic job of following lockdown protocols and ensuring the safety of staff and pupils."

Responding to concerns from some parents who worried the police did not respond fast enough, Paxton said police responded within about 10 to 15minutes.

Paxton said a police staff member was speaking with the school principal on site and was observing the address and relaying that information back to the station.

"With these kinds of things we need to ensure the safety of our staff, the community and those at the school."

He thanked the community for their patience and support during their investigations.

TIMELINE:
8.45am - shots fired
9am - police arrived and schools locked down
9.30am - Bellevue School warned parents on its Facebook page about the lockdown
10am - lockdown lifted