Napier shooting: Drama on a street called Breakneck

Chaucer Rd South is quiet as the standoff continues. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

No scream or yell could be heard at the bottom of the hill. No sound that might provide a clue as to what was happening. Dozens threw themselves to the ground as shots rang out on Hospital Hill.

But they didn't stay down for long. Hill residents crowded the thoroughfares around Chaucer Rd, shocked and puzzled by a killing in their area.

It had been a day of drama, full of evacuations and gunshots.

The ear-piercing gunfire - at times sounding as if it was ricocheting off the road - sounded so close, but the bushy hills weren't giving anything away.

No scream or yell could be heard at the bottom of the hill. No sound that might provide a clue as to what was happening up the street the locals call "Breakneck".

Business owners on industrial Carlyle St watched from the barriers, knowing there would be no business.

As night fell, residents of Chaucer and surrounding streets wandered aimlessly inside the outer barricades. Some were just being nosy, others were frantic, worrying about their loved ones still inside their houses.

Others just wanted to get home to feed the dog or cook dinner.

A little more than a dozen waited inside the Napier Intermediate School hall, which was a blaze of yellow and red as Red Cross and Civil Defence members rallied around the civilians. Biscuits and scones waited on tables and a hot meal was being prepared.

The town was alive with rumours about the identity of the gunman, and everyone had heard something "through the grapevine".

Traffic was at a standstill in many parts of town as commuters tried to get home.

The Salvation Army set up camp by the Napier Army Office, feeding the tired and hungry policemen as they came off shift.

Bay Canon - three doors down from the closest police barrier - stayed open late to let reporters file their stories from its offices.

Dozens of reporters and photographers waited at the cordon at the intersection of Carlyle and Faraday Sts until well after dark, snapping at police cars and Army vehicles entering the closed-off area.