Raw video shows a shootout in Christchurch, one man was taken to hospital with critical injuries.
The Police Association has said it has grave concerns about the safety of police officers following two recent shooting incidents.
The most recent of these was last night, when a gunman was shot by police after fleeing in a vehicle and opening fire at officers.
Just last week, a man was also fatally shot by police during a roadside shootout after robbing a Kawerau bank.
Association president Chris Cahill said he was not surprised by the two shootings being so close together.
"Because every day we are hearing of events involving firearms either threatening police officers, being used during an offence, or being used against members of the public," he said.
"It is just so prevalent now, so it is just a matter of time that these incidents do occur, and unless something is done about the number of firearms in the hands of criminals it is only going to increase."
Cahill said his one biggest dread was getting the call to say a police officer has been shot and killed.
"Yet as every day passes, and the reports of firearms incidents becomes relentless, I fear that call is ever closer unless we seriously crack down on the proliferation of illegal firearms."
Since last June there have been at least 60 firearms incidents reported in the media, Cahill said.
Police at the scene of a shooting in Richmond, Christchurch. Officers can be seen standing over the offender (in red). Photo / Mathew Roberts
"On top of that are the daily reports from Association members of finding firearms during routine police stops and property and personal searches throughout New Zealand. These rarely make the news," he said.
Cahill said the effect on officers involved in shootings can be "very dramatic".
"Certainly when an officer has to take a life, it can be life-changing for that officer," he said.
"The families who were forced to take shelter in Christchurch last night know, following their appalling experience, that firearms in the hands of the wrong people are terrifying and a potential risk to us all."
In an incident like Christchurch, Cahill said, tasers and pepper spray "really aren't an option".
"You can't get close enough for a start so you can't guarantee that they are going to have the ability to incapacitate that offender – so it is just too risky for the police and the public," he said.
NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"Once an officer has made a decision that they have to shoot to protect themselves or a member of the public, they are trained to shoot at the centre of the visible mass of that person because they have to stop that person from the danger he or she is presenting."
"It is not a matter of shooting to kill, it is a matter of hitting the biggest possible target to insure that you actually hit them.
"The idea that you can shoot someone in the arm and make them drop the gun is just movie stuff. It is not reality and what happens during the fast pace and adrenaline."
He said the recent shootings incidents clearly bring the debate about all police officers carrying firearms to the floor.
"A significant number of our members think all police officers should carry a gun, and surveys suggest the public support that as well.
"What we would say, is we would much prefer that society was safer and there weren't as many firearms available to criminals, then we wouldn't need to be armed all the time.
"But if things don't change it is probably inevitable, and from what we have seen things aren't getting better, they are getting worse."
Police at the scene in the suburb of Richmond. Photo / Jack Loader
Cahill said there needs to be some action taken around the proliferation of firearms.
"After every incident things are reviewed and there are multiple inquiries to see what lessons can be learnt out of it," he said.
"The first thing we need to do is have a registry of all firearms so we know how many firearms are in New Zealand, where they are and are they secure.
"People say the genie is already out of the bottle there, but we would say you have got to start somewhere.
"We also need to look at how many firearms are imported into New Zealand every year and what sort of firearms; and have that debate about what it actually required."
Cahill said his concerns are not about law-abiding firearms owners who securely store their guns.
"My focus is on the ease at which people can access firearms, especially through burglaries, and the fact that no one actually knows how many firearms are out in our communities because we are not required to register them individually," he said.
