At around 9pm on Wednesday 6 March, police and the Armed Offenders Squad were called out to a Tolcarne Avenue address in Maori Hill, where a man had apparently holed himself up in his house with his gun collection after a domestic incident.
When Critic arrived at the property at 10pm after a tipoff, the three roads leading to the gunman’s property were cordoned off by armed police, with cordons on Baxter Street, Drivers Road, and both ends of Grendon Street.
Around a dozen police vehicles attended the scene, including a special ops van. At least twelve police officers were in attendance, many of whom were armed, along with four fully-equipped Armed Offenders Squad members armed with assault rifles.
A police negotiation team attempted to reason with the man via a loudhailer, urging him to turn on the lights and exit the house with his hands clearly visible. The man’s name was clearly audible, but Critic has declined to publish it due to being a media organisation with integrity and class.
After several minutes of attempted negotiation, Critic heard several loud cracking sounds from the property around 100 metres away from
the police cordon, possibly from a taser or other weapon.
Critic spoke to a neighbour of the gunman, who described him as “a bit of a recluse” who had been living in the house for the past five years. The gunman’s wife and children had initially been present in the house during the disturbance, but were able to leave the house without suffering injury. The gunman was later arrested.
Police at the scene referred Critic’s enquiries to the Senior Sergeant on duty at the Dunedin Central police station, but no information on the incident was forthcoming.
Critic suggests that in future, the man who was arrested should commit his crimes in the more appropriate suburb of Pine Hill.
Crazed Gunman Terrorises Wealthy Dunedin Suburb
