The arrested man is led away to a nearby police car in Duke St. Photo / Paul Taylor
A man has been charged with threatening to kill and presenting a restricted weapon after allegedly being spotted with a firearm in Hastings on Thursday evening.
Police were called about 4.30pm on Thursday after receiving a report of a person in possession of a firearm at an address on Tomoana Rd, Hastings.
A man was arrested after armed police cordoned off a section of the road near Cornwall Park, as cricketers attended practice and children played nearby.
A 31-year-old man has since been charged with threatening to kill and presenting an object like a firearm or restricted weapon.
Police said the firearm in question is not believed to be authentic.
The man is due to appear in Hastings District Court on Saturday.
Minutes before the man was arrested about 5.05pm, witnesses believed another man yelled he had a replica firearm and ''it's not me'', before placing the firearm slowly on the road near the arrest scene.
The man who placed the firearm on the road was not arrested, police confirmed.