Police have confirmed they have shot a man who shot a police dog in the tiny Northland town of Tangowahine. Video / Will Trafford / Adam Pearse
Northland police will reveal more details this afternoon about an incident where an officer shot at a man who shot a police dog this morning.
Superintendent Tony Hill will front the media at the Whangārei police station at 3.30pm and the press conference will be streamed live.
Police earlier confirmed they have shot a man who shot a police dog during an incident in a tiny Northland settlement.
Both are receiving medical attention.
Tangowahine, between Dargaville and Whāngārei on the northern Kaipara Harbour, was shut down this morning as police raced to support colleagues who had confronted an armed individual.
A Westpac Rescue Helicopter touches down at Auckland City Hospital carrying a man shot in Northland. Photo / Dean Purcell
Police and paramedics arrive with a man shot in Northland. Photo / Dean Purcell
Police said in a statement this morning they were called at 9.17am after a member of the public called to report a suspicious person on Tangowahine Valley Road.
"Police staff have responded to that job in an area with very limited communication. We are still working to establish exactly what has occurred.
"However, we can confirm that a police dog has been shot, and a man who has shot the dog has been shot by police.
Police say the man shot a police dog. Photo / Michael Craig
"Both are currently being airlifted separately to receive medical and veterinary assistance.
"We are in the very early stages of establishing what exactly has happened but an update will be provided as soon as one becomes available."
The injured man was taken to Auckland City Hospital by a Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The injured dog has been flown by the Northland Rescue Helicopter to Veterinary Specialist Group at Auckland's Unitec campus in Mt Albert, Auckland according to Stuff.
The animal emergency centre on in Mt Albert where a shot police dog was flown. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Police responded in force, with about 20 police cars seen racing down State Highway 14 from Whangarei to Tangowahine.
Police told Tangowahine School about the shooting but there was no need to put the school in lockdown, principal Huw Wainwright said.
Wainwright said classes continued as normal although the school would use its mailing list to tell parents what was happening.
"We're not in a situation where we upset or unduly react to something we're not fully informed about".
Police stop traffic after a serious shooting incident near Tangowahine on State Highway 14 in Northland. Photo / Tania Whyte
Wainwright said the school was waiting on further information from police.
Ian MacDonald, a beef and sheep farmer on Tangowahine Valley Rd, said an ambulance had gone past about 10.15am.
"It's terrible, shocking. Of course it's a worry. I have kids myself so you want to stay safe."
Police responded in force, with about 20 police cars seen racing down State Highway 14. Photo / Tania Whyte
MacDonald has lived in the area all his life and said people were farmers who quietly went about their business.
Local landowner Douglas Conn said the police dash to help their colleague was initially thwarted.
"There was a tree that was blown over so they had clear that for police to go through."
He said locals were largely in the dark over what had happened, although had pinned down the location of the incident. Knowing where it had happened hadn't shed any light on what might have happened, he said.
"Everyone is a bit overwhelmed and you're always concerned and think whether there are others involved, did it happen on my property, the circumstances of what happened."
The scene where the drama unfolded, from the cordon at the Avoca Road East intersection. Photo / Adam Pearse
A Dargaville-based company that runs converted golf carts on derailed Kiwi Rail tracks was forced to cancel today's lone trip because of the shooting.
Port Dargaville Rail and River director John Hansen said a customer rang and told him about the incident on Tangowahine Valley Rd and he then decided to cancel the trip.
"A lack of information from police is not very helpful. Hopefully we can go back tomorrow," he said.
Tangowahine. Photo / Google Maps
The trip is 14.5km each way and the journey takes riders through dairy farms, under overhead bridges and along the Northern Wairoa River, and the cart stops on Tangowahine Valley Rd for refreshments before returning to Dargaville.
Hansen said the shooting was "just another thing" in a tough year for his business.
The diminutive railway vehicles have startled commuters along State Highway 14 since Port Dargaville Rail and River started running them on December 12, 2015 between Dargaville and Tangowahine.
The incident comes after a number of shooting incidents in the Far North and wider Northland region in the last two months.
In late October, a lone female police officer carrying out a routine stop was shot at near the Puketona Junction on State Highway 1.
The incident involved two men - who have yet to be found - who got out of their car and aimed guns at the officer - who was able to retreat.
However, that was not before a shot was fired at her vehicle; shattering the windscreen.
Hours before the officer was shot at, police were alerted to a situation hours earlier when a man who had been kidnapped near Waipapa raised the alarm.
That was also a firearms-related incident and resulted in the victim's car - a grey 2010 Nissan Skyline - being torched on Puketōtara Rd near Ōkaihau.
