The shooting victim was identified on social media as Kaoss Price.
The man who died after being shot by police in New Plymouth has been named online as Kaoss Price.
Police are yet to formally release the victim's name but friends of his have taken to social media to express their heartbreak.
"Rest easy egg" and "flame on forever," one person wrote.
The incident occurred while police were conducting a vehicle stop on Devon Rd on Saturday about 9.30pm.
Few details have emerged so far and police are yet to say why Price was shot by officers.
Police remained at the scene overnight and roads were closed on Sunday while a scene examination was completed.
"The person shot by police was critically injured. Medical assistance was immediately provided however, tragically, the person died at the scene," police said.
An associate of Price told Stuff police knew immediately who they had shot given Price's distinctive facial tattoos.
A person living nearby told the Herald she was lying in bed when she heard a loud volley of gunfire.
"I heard a 'bang, bang, bang' and I thought, what on earth was that," the resident said.
"It sounded a lot louder than what you'd normally hear ... it sounded like a gun."
The IPCA was being notified and a critical incident investigation was under way.
Last November, the Taranaki Daily News reported that Price was jailed for more than two years following a string of offending.
Judge Tony Greig outlined some of the crimes Price had committed over the period of a year.
The crimes included escaping from police custody, burglary, theft of motor vehicles, thefts involving family members and multiple police chases.
According to the Taranaki Daily News, police officers spotted Price driving and signalled for him to stop in November 2020.
He accelerated heavily into the oncoming traffic, and along a residential road "where schoolchildren were forced to take evasive action to avoid being hit by you", the judge said.
The pursuit was abandoned, but once police did find Price, he had 2.5 grams of methamphetamine on him, a metal knuckleduster in his car, and blood tests taken showed he had meth and cannabis in his system.
Armed police stood guard as the patched members were led out in handcuffs.