Dramatic video captures the moment a man who allegedly attempted to rob the Henderson Valley Rd Gull was shot outside the Henderson police station. Video / Supplied
The Department of Corrections raised the alarm about an Auckland man who breached his bail conditions, more than a month before he opened fire on police officers and was shot dead.
But police were unable to find David Lolie Junior Fononga in the “immediate days” after Corrections reported the breach of electronically monitored bail in February.
And police have now confirmed their decision-making is part of a wider investigation into the shooting at the Henderson station last week.
The Herald can also reveal five people were at large in the city last week who have absconded while on electronically monitored bail.
Fononga, 26, died in a hail of police bullets on Friday, March 17.
A man fired shots during an attempted robbery of an Armourguard van at the Henderson Valley Rd Gull service station.
Shortly after 10am Fononga tried to rob at gunpoint an Armourguard van parked at a petrol station on Henderson Valley Rd, firing a shot in the process.
No one was injured and he fled in a black BMW. Police cordoned off the petrol station but he returned and brandished his gun at officers.
He again fled, then shot at police near the intersection of Forrest Hill Rd and Pine Ave.
Fononga drove around Henderson erratically, firing at police staff who returned several shots.
“He has done this with absolutely zero regard for the safety of police staff or members of the public going about their business nearby,” said Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan.
Shortly before 11am he stopped outside Henderson Police station and left his car, again holding the weapon.
Members of the Armed Offenders Squad challenged him to drop his gun. They shot him when he refused.
He was critically injured and died in hospital that afternoon.
“What unfolded today was an inexcusable act of violence towards Police staff and members of the public,” Hassan said at the time.
One police officer suffered minor injuries when they were forced to take evasive action in their car after Fononga fired at them.
The gunman at the centre of a West Auckland rampage is pictured moments before being shot by police outside the Henderson Police Station.
Police, as is usual practice, have launched a slew of reviews and investigations after the chaos.
Among them is an internal review focussing on the police response to his breach of electronically monitored (EM) bail.
He was granted EM bail while facing a range of charges including drug offences.
Police opposed bail at a court appearance in April last year, but he was released by a judge.
Police can support or oppose bail, with input from Corrections on suitability of a defendant or bail address, but the decision is ultimately up to the courts.
The Department of Corrections and police jointly manage EM bail.
Corrections monitors compliance and reports breaches, which are then meant to be followed up by police.
The Herald understands, and police have confirmed, that Fononga breached the conditions of his EM bail and absconded early last month.
David Fononga was fatally shot by police in Henderson after a stand-off. Photo / Facebook
“This matter was followed up and a series of inquiries in the immediate days following. However, he was not located,” Hassan said.
Hassan said police treat all EM bail breaches, termed 6Es in police parlance, seriously and they are prioritised “alongside other demand”.
“All 6Es are reviewed at the start of each shift by a range of Police staff. That includes Communications dispatchers, District Command Centre coordinators and prevention sergeants based in the area where a breach was reported.”
As of late on Thursday this week, five people on EM bail were at large across Auckland.
Corrections northern regional commissioner Sean Mason provided further information about the breach.
“He had absconded last month when he appeared to allow the battery on his tracker run flat,” Mason said.
