Police responding to incident in Hamilton, public warned to avoid area

Armed police have swarmed on a Hamilton suburb and the public is being told to keep away.

Police are investigating following a report of a shooting at a Hamilton address.

A spokesperson said police responded to an incident in Norton Road around 12.30pm.

“It is understood one person is injured but left the scene prior to Police arriving and was not able to be located.

“Cordons were in place at the scene while the address was cleared, and no one was found inside the property.”

Police said a scene guard remains in place while an examination is conducted to piece together exactly what happened.

An incident is unfolding in a Hamilton suburb and police are warning the public to stay away from the area.

The public was earlier advised to avoid the area.

A St John spokesperson said ambulance officers were responding to the incident but would not give details, deferring comment to police.

Armed police at the scene in Hamilton.

A man who was working on Norton Rd at the time of the incident said he heard what sounded like a gunshot, shortly after he said a vehicle with “two big men” showed up and he saw them run down a driveway towards a home.

He said a distressed man came over from the property to his workplace and he and another worker helped to calm him down.

He said the distressed man was later taken away by police. The man did not have any injuries, he said.

An eyewitness and a resident of Kent St has described seeing a car full of Mongrel Mob gang members being chased by multiple police cars before it crashed into a house on Norton Rd.

“A mob member has then got out of the car and entered someone’s house.

“Another walked out on foot holding a shotgun, police have just told us.”

They said the businesses on the road have had to close and homes on an adjacent street were being evacuated.