Victim had to tie up family

A kidnapping victim was forced to tie up members of his family while a pistol was pointed at his head.

More details have come to light about North Canterbury businessmen Andrew Cameron’s ordeal on Monday night.

A masked gunman ambushed Cameron at his home near Hanmer Springs in a case of mistaken identity. Police, who are yet to arrest the offender or whoever dropped him off, described it as ‘‘an unbelievably dangerous scenario’’.

Nine people, including his 19-year-old son and 3-month-old baby, were at Cameron’s home when the gunman burst through the door.

Cameron’s sister-in-law hid under a bed and called police as the gunman forced Cameron to tie people up.

He tied up his son loosely and told him to stay in his room. He offered the gunman money and a set of car keys, but the masked man did not want them.

There was no time to be scared, he said. There was a ‘‘finite timeframe’’ and he had to do something.

‘‘You start tying people up, you’re starting to lose your strength so at some point you had to make a decision – pretty hard to do that with a gun pointed at you though.’’ The intruder pistol-whipped Cameron, leaving him with blood streaming down his face. It took Cameron’s son about 30 seconds to free himself. He then crept down the hallway to check on his father and uncle. ‘‘For a 19-year-old to step into where a guy has a gun and has just seen someone with blood everywhere, that’s very brave.

‘‘It was an absolute team effort to control the situation. You can’t control a situation like that, you can only do your best endeavours and we all did what we needed to do,’’ Cameron said.

Cameron, who has two black eyes, 28 stitches in his face and a limp, said he was ‘‘a bit sore’’.

‘‘We were a typical Kiwi family living in Hanmer Springs … it was totally random. You don’t think you’re going to walk outside your house and someone is just going to charge at you.’’

Canterbury rural area commander Inspector Peter Cooper said police were ‘‘absolutely certain’’ Cameron and his family were not the intended target of the attack.

It was unclear how the gunman got to the scene, Cooper said, and investigators were considering

"For a 19-year-old to step into where a guy has a gun and has just seen someone with blood everywhere, that's very brave." Andrew Cameron

the possibility others were involved.

‘‘At this stage we haven’t got a solid indication of who’s done it. Someone in the public knows who the offenders are and we’d love to hear from them.’’

The two local officers who responded to the attack, then withdrew, made the right call, he said.

‘‘[They] have done a great job … but I think the family themselves are the brave ones here.

‘‘It was an unbelievably dangerous scenario and he [Cameron] has been fantastic. I’m very impressed with how he behaved and managed to keep the offender calm.

‘‘This [incident] was very out of character for a quiet little town like Hanmer. It’s not a normal event.’’

Cooper appealed for sightings of the silver Nissan X-Trail, registration KQU365, between Hanmer Springs and Christchurch.

Investigators were forensically examining the vehicle and looking at CCTV footage from along the route as they worked to identify the gunman.

Anyone with information should contact Christchurch police on (03) 363 7400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 08000 555 111.