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Police arrested a 19-year-old man after a six-hour stand-off involving a flare gun in central Dunedin.
The man, who was holed up on the top floor of the former Chief Post Office, was armed with a marine "flare unit", the Otago Daily Times reported.
The man had earlier handed over a hammer and knife in exchange for cigarettes.
The man had been "quite agitated" during the exchange, after earlier laughing and joking, Inspector Alastair Dickie told reporters.
Fifteen Armed Offenders Squad officers had gone into the building about 8am and talked by cellphone to the man, who was known to police.
The man had made several demands including that members of his family be moved to a different address.
Police have lifted the cordon which had disrupted central Dunedin traffic for most of the morning.
- NZPA
