Attempted gunpoint burglary leaves Auckland man ‘shaken’

Police say they were investigating an attempted burglary. Photo / NZME

An Auckland man in his late 30s was returning to his Upland Rd home in Remuera last night when two men he had never seen before followed his car into the driveway just as his main gate was closing.

“I moved my car halfway into the driveway and I saw these men wearing orange hi-vis jacket follow behind,” the man told the Herald.

“I put my window down a little and asked them ‘what are you doing here?’ they replied by saying ‘they are here to do a maintenance check’.

“I told them we had not booked any such work.

“I shut my window and then both of them pulled out a gun each from their backpack.”

The man said he was in “panic mode”.

“They pointed the guns toward me on the window.

“I started to reverse my car and opened my gate, it was slowly opening and then they started hitting my window.

“They couldn’t break it but they did damage it.”

The man said his driveway was quite narrow and he just wanted to get on the main road so he had open space.

“My first intention was to drive out of my home onto the open road.

“I could’ve hit them in the driveway. They ran away as I reversed and then forwarded my car.”

The man called the police who attended the scene after 5-10 minutes.

“To be honest we are quite lucky. The car was on and all doors were locked.

“I was also wary to not hit them maybe that’s why they ran away.

“The area has become very insecure. Many neighbours have had their cars broken into.

One of the neighbours saw the men during the day in a van parked 150m from my house.

“These men might have just seen my home and thought to randomly target me.”

Police confirmed the incident to the Herald, saying they were investigating an attempted burglary shortly after 6pm.

“The occupants were understandably shaken but what has occurred but fortunately no serious injuries have been reported,” detective senior sergeant Scott Armstrong from the Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch said.

“Our investigation into the incident remains ongoing and Police ask anyone in the area who saw any suspicious activity at the time to contact us.”