Gun suspect 'easygoing workmate'

Armed police found Bourke on a golf course yesterday morning. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Alleged gunman David John Bourke was an old-school freezing worker known for his cool head and easygoing manner with workmates on the slaughter chain.

Outside work, his main priority was looking out for his brother, who friends say "needed a little help".

Bourke, 46, of Wanganui, was known to be very protective of his sibling, who is believed to be about the same age.

Now friends are concerned for his brother, who they say has not been seen for a while.

It is not known if the body found in the back of Bourke's crashed Honda Rafaga is that of his brother.

Police say they have identified a middle-aged man whose body was found in the vehicle, but his name was not due to be released until today.

An autopsy has been completed.

No charges have yet been laid in relation to the death.

Bourke was arrested at 10.40am yesterday, after armed police found him hiding in an outdoor toilet cubicle at the back of the Norsewood and Districts Golf Club.

He had spent almost 43 hours on the run in freezing temperatures, and was found only 500 metres from where he had first disappeared.

The hunt began on Sunday afternoon, when a motorist fled a police patrol after being stopped north of Dannevirke for driving erratically.

He crashed a short distance away near Norsewood, and escaped on foot.

The fugitive fired at a police officer while running into farmland, later threatening one farmworker with a gun, and shooting at two farmworkers, hitting one in the shoulder.

Little more was heard of him, except for a shotgun blast on Monday afternoon. One of his belongings - thought to be an asthma inhaler - was found on the bank of the Manawatu River that night.

Superintendent Russell Gibson said it was clear Bourke was not prepared to give up when he was discovered yesterday, and he praised officers for disarming him without using their weapons.

Bourke was suffering from hypothermia but had no other injuries. He was taken to Palmerston North for medical treatment.

The events of the past few days have come as a shock to Bourke's friends back home in Wanganui.

"[Bourke] spent his whole life looking out for his brother," said a long-time family friend, who asked not to be named.

The brothers lived with their father, Maurice, in the family home in Wanganui. Their mother is understood to have died in the past few months.

The friend said that while the parents had also looked after the brother, Bourke always had a "special eye" on him. The brother did not work, and Bourke would use his wages if he ever needed anything extra.

Trevor Beamsley, a friend and fellow freezing worker, said Bourke's alleged actions had left the factory "reeling".

Even his failure to turn up for work on Monday was out of character, and news reports of the manhunt were met with the reaction of "they've got the wrong David Bourke".