Man shot by police not armed

An officer lifts the cordon around the scene of the police shooting near Otane last night. Photo / Warren Buckland

A Central Hawke's Bay man who was shot by police after allegedly threatening to blow them up with a hand grenade early this morning was not armed, police say.

The 48-year-old remained in a critical condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit after undergoing surgery for the gunshot wound to his torso, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said police had been searching for the man for several days for alleged crimes including domestic assault, home invasion and attempting to ram a police car.

They considered him armed and dangerous as he had allegedly made previous threats to "take people out''.

Mr Hoyle said there were two officers in the car when the man approached and allegedly told one of the officers he had a gun and was going to kill him. As he advanced on the officer he was concealing something in his sweatshirt pocket.

Mr Hoyle said the officer backed off from the man, warning him several times to show his hands and that police were armed, before the officer fired the single shot.

As the police officer struggled to restrain him, the man allegedly told them he had a grenade and was going to "blow them all up''.

Eastern District police spokeswoman Kris McGehan confirmed the man was not armed.

One local resident, who spoke on condition her name was not used, said an innocent local man who knows the accused became embroiled in the dramatic incident when he stopped his car to give the man a ride, unaware that he was on the run from police.

"It just so happened that it was one of the boys from around here who had no involvement with the police or anything like that who got caught up in the whole thing.''

The driver didn't know what was going on when they were stopped at a police checkpoint and the man allegedly tried to ``do a runner''.

Ms McGehan said the driver was very co-operative with police and would not be facing any charges.

Otane resident Sarah Rogers said the incident was a shock for the small community, which has a population in the hundreds - "it's just a whistle stop''.

"It's a little bit `oh my goodness, what is happening to our sleepy little hollow?'

"It's a very gentle little town and this is just so unexpected. It's a shock really.''

The injured man's name has not been released by police. He will face a number of charges this week.

The Independent Police Complaints Authority has been advised of the shooting and a criminal investigation will be run by senior police officers from outside the Eastern District.

The officers involved in the incident were now off duty.