Man charged after school firearms incident

A drunk man allegedly picked a fight with a parent waiting to pick up his child from primary school before going back to his house and getting two guns.

Shelly Park Primary in Howick went on lockdown as the pupils were due to finish for the day and Sunnyview Ave was cordoned off as police swarmed all over the street and arrested the man.

Another parent, a woman, waiting for her child in a car, had seen the altercation between the two men. Minutes later she spotted the man walk out of the garage of his house - which is across the street from the school - with an air rifle and a shotgun before going back inside through another door.

Principal Brian Rolfe said the woman then ran into the school office to raise the alarm. Astaff member phoned the police.

"It was enough for her to become worried. We had 460 kids about to finish school at that time, my responsibility was to make sure they were safe ..."

Senior Sergeant John Yearbury, of the Counties Manukau police, said the two men did not know each other.

A man is to appear in the Manukau District Court today facing firearms charges.