No armed person — but a blaze
Armed police were called to a barbershop fire in Henderson on Friday night after a mistaken report of an armed person in the area.
Firefighters were called to the Babylon Barbers shop around 11.50pm, where they found it engulfed in flames.
“The fire was well-involved when we arrived, we were able to attack it, bringing it under control,” a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said.
Five crews were called to the scene but 40 minutes after they arrived, police also turned up.
A witness told the Herald on Sunday about 12 officers armed with semi-automatic rifles and handguns were there with police dogs.
A police spokeswoman said the officers’ deployment was because an initial report said an armed person was in the area.
A scene guard remained in place overnight.
Firefighters worked past 4am to contain the fire, but the store was extensively damaged.
No one was injured.