Police on Federal St search for man with gun.
A sighting of a man with a gun in central Auckland has sparked an armed police callout.
Armed police gathered near the corner of Albert St and Wellesley St in Auckland CBD about 3.30pm after a witnesses reported seeing a man with a gun.
Two Norwegian tourists told the Herald they saw a man driving a black car pull out of the Sky City Hotel carpark, holding a gun outside the car window.
"He was waving it around out the window," they said.
"As soon as we saw it, we walked away really fast.
"We got really scared and turned around right away. We were even too scared to look around and see if he was pointing it at us," the tourists told the Herald.
They said it was their last day in New Zealand and it was a frightening way to farewell the city.
A police spokesman said police received a report from a member of the public relating to an individual who they reported as possibly having a firearm.
"Police are currently making inquiries to establish what has occurred.
"Staff are currently armed, as is standard procedure in responding to jobs of this nature," he said.
Another witness said he saw a couple of officers speaking to the two female tourists and then all of a sudden a couple of police officers jumped in a car and took off.
"Armed police had been circling the area since about 3.30pm," he said.
More to come.
Tauranga City Council is investigating its sale of the precinct to a developer.