Armed police swarm Henderson in West Auckland, police car hit by gunfire. Video / Supplied
A West Auckland woman was left terrified and confused after an armed offender in a vehicle behind her shot at police and then sped past her.
Aleshia Ruka-Waddell, who is celebrating a birthday, was in the passenger’s seat of her friend’s car at the intersection of Great North and Hepburn Rds, waiting for the light to turn green while heading to lunch in Henderson.
Ruka-Waddell’s friend, Chanel Meyrick, was pointing out the number of police cars speeding up Great North Rd, before all hell broke loose.
“Next thing we heard four or five gunshots in a row and we were just like, ‘What the hell’, so we ducked down in the car because we weren’t sure what was going on,” Ruka-Waddell told the Herald.
Meyrick had told Ruka-Waddell she had seen a police officer fall to the ground among the flurry of gunfire.
Video footage shared exclusively with the Herald of the moment police shot a gunman following his rampage shows him falling to the ground. Photo / Supplied
“I peeked my head up the tiniest bit and I saw the car drive past us and I saw four or five bullet holes in its back left window.
“It all happened within about 30 seconds so afterward it was pretty hard to process and have it sink in,” she said.
Ruka-Waddell says now the event has sunk in a little, it is definitely a nerve-racker, especially happening on her birthday.
“We were terrified, just because of the randomness of seeing cops and then hearing shots behind us one after the other right away. We just panicked and didn’t know what the heck was going on,” she said.
A driver's door damaged by a gunshot after a man opened fire on police in West Auckland. Photo / Katie Harris
Ruka-Waddell says never in a million years would she have thought her birthday would unfold how it did.
“It went off with a bang, let’s just say that, and definitely a birthday I will never forget,” she said.
Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan said the gunman approached a cash-in-transit van at the Gull station on Henderson Valley Rd just after 10am this morning and discharged a firearm.
The man left in a black BMW before returning to the scene and presenting a firearm at police staff.
“He has driven away from the scene and proceeded to fire at police near the intersection of Forrest Hill Rd and Pine Avenue,” said Hassan.
The police Eagle helicopter continued to track the man’s vehicle driving around the Henderson area, where he was seen acting erratically and firing at police staff on multiple occasions.
This image shows a police patrol car struck by gunfire, with the damage suggesting it was caused by shotgun pellets.
At 10.49am, the man stopped his vehicle outside the Henderson police station and exited holding a firearm.
”Members of the Armed Offenders Squad approached the man and challenged him to put down his firearm. He continued to brandish it and at this point, police shot the man,” Hassan said.
First aid was immediately provided by staff and the man was transported to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition. He underwent surgery but later died from his injuries.
The man, who was in his mid-20s, was known to police and had charges relating to drugs and violence.
“What unfolded today was an inexcusable act of violence towards police staff and members of the public ... It is incredibly fortunate that no police officer or member of the public has suffered any serious injuries from this offender’s reckless actions,” Hassan said.
Several investigatations are now underway into the day’s events.
