Alert paralyses Ahipara

Armed police stop vehicles near Ahipara. Photo / Clive Crombie

Armed police put a coastal village in lockdown yesterday after what started as a squabble between brothers ended in gunfire.

The search for the gunman - known locally as "The Dump Rat" - took police through bush, over sand dunes and through a tourist group on quad bikes.

The Armed Offenders Squad spent five hours hunting for the man after they were called to the coastal hamlet of Ahipara, 14km west of Kaitaia in Northland.

The man was arrested at about 5pm at Shipwreck Bay, a remote area with a shanty town a few kilometres south of the village.

Tua Tua Tours guide Richard Evan was taking two visitors from Auckland on a trip across sand dunes south of the village. He said the group was briefly stopped by police in combat gear and automatic weapons.

"I thought to myself 'man, I would not want those guys after me' because if they wanted you, you would be dead. I knew the guy they were after and I thought 'I hope he hasn't come down here'."

He said the man acquired his nickname of "The Dump Rat" because he spent a lot of time at the town tip.

Evan said locals had been told that the man had used a firearm during an argument with his girlfriend and brother. "He's not a killer, so he wouldn't have shot to kill... but he's still a bit off."

Police cordons confused residents and locals complained of not being told what was going on.