Armed Offenders Squad arrive to cordon off a Kamo street, north of Whangarei.
A residential Whangarei street went into lockdown with armed police called to intervene after reports of a man with a firearm.
Police resources were stretched because at the same time officers were dealing with a fatal crash north of the city after a motorcyclist and a four-wheel-drive vehicle collided.
The drama began about 3.40pm in Whangarei after a man was believed to have left a property in Tikipunga with a pistol yesterday.
Officers were sent to nearby streets and places it was thought he may go.
About 30 minutes later officers put cordons in place in Charles St and stopped traffic from going in and out.
However, one woman took exception to an officer blocking her path saying she had a daughter in a house up the street and wanted to check if she was safe. After some discussion she was escorted to the house.
Neighbours in the area were out on the lawns or the decks of their homes watching the action unfold.
Armed offenders arrived at the scene at 5.45pm with a police dog and handler arriving shortly after and accessing the scene through Eden Terrace, a street overlooking Charles St.
Police in Kamo at the scene of the incident. Photo / Supplied
The police negotiating team were communicating with a man but at edition time he had still not come out of the house under police scrutiny.
Meanwhile, a male motorcyclist died on Russell Rd, near Whakapara after colliding with a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Serious crash investigator Sergeant Barbara Goodwin said two motorcyclists were riding towards Oakura when the collision happened with the oncoming vehicle on a bend in the road.
A man died at the scene while the second rider was not injured. Four people in the vehicle were not injured. Both vehicles went off the road into a paddock.
Hikurangi volunteer firefighters were at the scene helping police while the road was down to one lane.
Both vehicles were to be removed last night and would be examined as part of the investigation.
The fatality was the second in Northland in four days after a 43-year-old man died when the Toyota Prado he was driving flipped on Ninety Mile Beach beach on Friday night.
