Manhunt for gunman on the run
Police were last night still searching for the gunman at the centre of a shooting in Foxton.
The victim of the shooting arrived at Palmerston North Hospital in a critical condition but a MidCentral District Health Board spokeswoman could not confirm their status.
Police said the shooting took place at a Main St property yesterday morning, with one person suffering serious injuries, believed to be to their leg.
Crime scene cordons went up about midday, forcing schools and the public library in the Horowhenua town into lockdown. Schools in the area began lifting their lockdowns about 1pm as the hunt for the gunman continued and most cordons came down.
The gunman remained on the loose and was thought to still be in the Foxton area.
It is understood the offender on the run was wearing a Nomads gang vest. One woman told Stuff the shooting occurred at a flat in Main St.
A spokeswoman at Manawatu¯ College said it went into lockdown about 11.40am.
The school was out of lockdown after 1pm, and others were told they could also do the same.
Shortly before 12.30pm, armed police cordoned off an alleyway in Main St, next to Hammer Hardware. The alleyway leads to a space at the end of Foxton Service Lane, off Wharf Rd.
Police officers herded out several bystanders to tape off the whole area behind the shops.
A witness told Stuff police briefly detained a man next door to a car yard, Lee Mason Motors, but let him go.
Children hid under desks for an hour at Foxton Primary School.
Principal Tiwana Hibbs, on his first day in the job, said the
Tiwana Hibbs Foxton Primary School principal
school was called by police about 11.40am and told to go into lockdown. ‘‘We were unaware of what happened and no details were passed [on] by police.’’
Children were told to get under their desks or hide in backrooms and keep quiet.
The school had practised the procedure but the real thing was confronting, Hibbs said.
‘‘The emotions were running high. We had a lot of kids who were very scared. The staff did an amazing job of keeping them quiet and out of sight.’’
Worried parents flocked to the school and some had taken their children home after the lockdown was lifted about 12.40pm.
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom marketing manager Arjan van der Boon said the library and cultural centre were also placed into lockdown, which finished after 1pm.
A Foxton resident of 30 years, who didn’t want to be named, said she knew one of the parties involved in the shooting, which she said was appalling.
‘‘We had a lot of kids who were very scared. The staff did an amazing job of keeping them quiet.’’