Grand Theft Auto terror: Car-jackers attack men at gunpoint

Armed police raided the property after tracking the stolen car. Photo / Supplied

Two men were attacked at gunpoint in an early-morning carjacking in Auckland yesterday. One required hospital treatment after he was pistol-whipped.

In scenes reminiscent of the violent computer game Grand Theft Auto, a source told the Herald three assailants burst out of the darkness and carjacked the 2008 Mazda Atenza.

One of the victims' friends later tracked the stolen car to a West Auckland property, which was raided by armed police yesterday morning.

Video of the raid shows children walking near the besieged property and passing by a cordon guarded by a police officer with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, the three armed assailants ambushed the Mazda in New Lynn.

The source said two were aged in their mid- to late-20s and one was a 16-year-old boy.

The two older men rushed the vehicle and held the two male passengers at gunpoint, with their hands around their throats.

As the men were attacked, the teen jumped in the back and secured possessions.

One of the victims was hit with the stock of the firearm and received medical treatment at Waitakere Hospital, the source said.

A friend of the victims saw the stolen Mazda and it was tracked to a property on Albert St, Kelston, West Auckland.

An armed police officer at the scene of the raid. Photo / Supplied

Police swooped at 7.30am, arrested two men, and found the assailants' Nissan R32 Skyline and the stolen Mazda.

It's not known if the two arrested men had anything to do with the armed hold-up and it is understood police are yet to find the gun.

A police spokeswoman confirmed officers were investigating the carjacking and inquiries were ongoing.

"The vehicle stolen was a 2008 Mazda Atenza and it was found a short time after it was stolen, parked at a Kelston address."

She said armed offenders squad officers helped carry out a search warrant because a gun was allegedly involved in the carjacking.

"Inquiries are ongoing and police will be looking to identify and apprehend the offenders and to establish why the offenders approached the two victims and stole the car," the spokeswoman said.

An earlier statement from police described the Kelston raid as a "low-level operation in relation to a stolen vehicle".

No schools were placed in lockdown. Police were at the property for about an hour.