Shooting has town reeling

Ashburton felt like a town under siege yesterday, as armed police blocked roads and a helicopter circled overhead in search of gunman Russel Tully.

Residents were escorted to cars by friends as they were too scared to venture onto the street alone.

Carol Ward and her daughter Sarah said they knew one of the women killed in the morning’s shooting.

‘‘She’s a very nice lady – she’s very firm in the job that she does. It’s a loss to the welfare system,’’ Carol Ward said. ‘‘She’s been in there many years.’’ The shooting brought back horrible memories of the murder of Kirsty Bentley. ‘‘It’s the helicopters,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m actually quite shocked that it’s happened here again,’’ Sarah Ward said.

‘‘It brought me to tears that some man could take it upon himself to take his revenge out on her. She’s the type of person who you actually request to see.’’

Chalmers Ave resident Wayne Williams said the morning’s events would rock the town to its core.

Some elderly residents on the street were too scared to come out of their houses.

Before news that the suspected gunman had been caught, Williams feared the man could emerge after dark and try to hide in people’s sheds or garages.

An employee at another neighbouring business, who would not be named, said the shooting unfolded in Cass St about 10am.

‘‘I heard yelling and abuse and that’s what got me off my seat and then I heard what sounded like a car backfiring a little bit later.

‘‘I just looked at the window and saw people running . . . running out of the building.

Police set up a cordon between Helen Martin’s house on Chalmers Ave and the Ashburton River.

Fairfax NZ