Pupils and staff at Kelston Boys' High School, Kelston Girls' College, Kelston Intermediate and St Leonards Rd School were made to stay indoors after an emergency call about a person's wellbeing.
Four hours after the incident police said a person had been found in relation to the incident.
Kelston Girls' College principal Sarah Stenson told the Herald it was a "confronting sight" to look out her office and see police with weapons ranging across the school grounds yesterday afternoon.
Stenson said the lockdown had unnerved pupils and staff at her college.
"We were very shocked to be confronted by armed police. It's shaken everyone up here but the girls and staff managed it beautifully."
Today she was making sure the teenage girls were feeling settled after everyone was forced to stay inside while police hunted throughout neighbouring schools for the person.
"We're make sure everyone is okay today," she said.
Stenson said she was still in the dark about what prompted the lockdown.
"We were told there was an incident and we should go into lockdown and we obeyed. It seemed pretty imperative that we did as we were asked."
She said it was unusual for this to happen in the West Auckland neighbourhood.
"It's a lovely community and this seems very out of character," she said.
Henderson-Massey local board chairman Chris Carter said the recent firearm events had proved extremely frightening for the community.
"We had the incident at Lincoln Heights School in Massey and Kelston schools yesterday. People in the community are concerned and clearly a lot of it is related to drugs and drug activity and gang activity.
He said while police out west had been extremely proactive in reaching out to the community there remained a lot of worry and concern.
"People worry about their kids. When schools are in lockdown that's a very dramatic action and absolutely people are concerned about it and worried that this gang-related, drug-related activity in these working class suburbs in West Auckland is increasing."
He said it wasn't a new issue with P-houses in the community and problems in the past.
"I began my working life as a teacher very aware of the problem with drugs in the 80s but gun violence is a new dimension. And even though the government has been very proactive in changing the gun laws gang-related activity involving gun violence does seems to be worsening.
"There's some suspicion in the community that returnees from Australia have raised the level of violence in the gang community and that some of this elevated violence and criminal activity is related to hardened criminals from Australia. Whether that's accurate or not I'm not sure but that's certainly been raised with me."
Carter said there was no easy solution for the increase in gun violence.
It involved a pro-active police force and the community helping out, telling them who was behind the drug and gang activity.
