Major incident after shots fired at police in central North Island

Police hunting a group of people in the central North Island have made an arrest but the prime suspect in this morning's shooting remains at large.

A woman of interest was taken into custody at an Ohakune house.

Armed officers carrying out the arrest on a Miro St property. Photo / Supplied

Media have been warned to stay away.

Dolphy Kohu - named by police as a prime suspect, along with five others, in this morning's armed crime spree - is still on the loose.

Police this afternoon said one person has been arrested in Ohakune in connection with the search.

"The search for Mr Kohu and those associates is continuing, and police continue to warn the public in the central North Island to be on the alert for anything suspicious," police said in a statement.

One person has been arrested in Ohakune in connection with the search. Photo / Josh Price

"Police will not be disclosing any further information about the arrested person at this time."

Police are now leaving the Miro St address where the arrest took place.

Large parts of the Central Plateau remain in lockdown, with police asking people in Ohakune, Waiouru and Raetihi to stay indoors while the incident plays out.

The police Eagle helicopter has been deployed and police checkpoints have been set up across the central North Island.

The group - made up of Kohu, two other men and at least two women - went on the run after ramming a police car, shooting at the two officers inside, and then stealing the police car and attempting to flee in it.

The officers who were shot at were shaken but were otherwise unhurt, police said.
The stolen police car was later recovered intact, and police firearms which were kept inside were not stolen by the group, police said.

The car remains in site at the intersection of Ngamokai and Whangaehu Valley Rd, on the outskirts of Ohakune.

Police are guarding the scene of the recovered vehicle which has a prominent dent. Photo / Supplied

The rear of the station wagon appears to have suffered minor damage from crashing into the embankment, where it remains embedded, opposite the local marae.

The front of the vehicle has also suffered damage and has plastic or cardboard covering the front windscreen.

Two police vehicles, with armed officers inside, are sitting guard over the car and watching out for the group.

The New Zealand Herald has already seen one patrol car of armed offenders squad members drive past the scene.

Conditions in the area remain foggy, wet and cold.

An arrest warrant for Kohu was issued in July after the Department of Corrections applied to the Parole Board to recall him to prison.

Corrections central regional commissioner Terry Buffery said the department received information from Police that Kohu "had been involved in criminal activity".

"On this basis breach charges were laid and a recall application was made to the Parole Board."

No further details were available, including the date on which the criminal activity occurred.

Kohu was not subject to electronic monitoring.

In a briefing this morning, Central District Commander Superintendent Sue Schwalger said the events unfolded after police stopped a vehicle and officers approached.

"They were shot at, so they've retreated. And then what's happened is the offenders have got into our police car and driven off," she said.

Later, the group abandoned the police car and an associate or associates in a "dark-coloured vehicle" picked up the group, she said.

Kohu's grandfather has already pleaded for his grandson to turn himself in, saying he fears he will be shot by police if he doesn't.

"The only thing I can really add to it is for my mokopuna, for my grandson, to give himself up, come forward and give himself up," Te Tawhero Dolphy Kohu told Radio New Zealand this morning.

Police on the scene of the unfolding incident in the central North Island. Photo / Robert Milne, Ruapehu Bulletin

"The situation now, as much as I hate to think it, they're going to shoot him. His very actions have put him in that situation where they [police] have no choice."

Asked what he would say if he could speak directly to his grandson, Mr Kohu said: "Boy, I love you. Just give yourself up, that's all."

The plea came after police named Kohu as wanted in relation to the incident, which kicked off in the early hours of this morning when two officers got involved in a pursuit near Whanganui.

The car they were chasing rammed the police car near Ohakune about 3.30am. One of the people in the car fired twice at the officers. The group then drove off in the police car, which has since been recovered.

The group were considered to be armed and dangerous, police said, warning the public not to approach them.

Kohu was jailed in 2013 for shooting at a family in Whanganui. One victim was left with shotgun pellets embedded in his skin; two others were struck by pellets, although their clothing deflected them.

Kohu evaded police for about six weeks following that incident before he was arrested in Wellington. He was on parole at the time for a 2008 aggravated robbery.

This morning residents in the Ohakune, Waiouru and Raetihi regions were told to consider staying at home for the day, and parents urged to consider keeping children home from school.

However, despite extensive searches across the region, police are no closer to locating the group.

"It is an unfolding situation," Ms Schwalger said.

"The first challenge is we don't know where these offenders are."

Police Central Districts Commander, Superintendent Sue Schwalger, updating media on the hunt for 5 armed offenders in the central North Island. Photo / Mark Mitchell, NZ Herald

She added: "They are actively evading us."

Ms Schwalger urged Kohu to hand himself in.

Motorists in the central North Island were urged not to pick up hitchhikers or strangers until the situation was resolved, while residents living in the area were urged to "maintain a heightened awareness".

Police were "firmly focussed" on locating Dolphy and his associates, Ms Schwalger said, and officers were "leaving no stone unturned to find them as soon as possible".

"We have a large and highly trained team of police staff in the area actively looking for these offenders," she said.

"This includes specialist armed staff including members of the STG [Special Tactics Group] and AOS [Armed Offenders Squad]. The Eagle helicopter is also assisting in the search.

"I can assure the public that police will take whatever steps are appropriate to keep the community safe. We have access to a full range of tactical options and highly trained staff to deal with these sorts of situations."

Some schools in the area have closed their doors for the day, but all roads remained open to traffic, Ms Schwalger said.

"We do have police patrols and checkpoints set up in key locations looking out for these offenders, who are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
"The public can also expect to see armed police throughout the region, along with police vehicles and helicopter activity."

Any sightings of the group or suspicious activity should be reported to police immediately via 111, she said.

Kohu appeared before the Parole Board on May 21.

Police on the scene of the unfolding incident in the central North Island. Photo / Robert Milne, Ruapehu Bulletin

He had been recalled to prison on March 10, after an interim recall order was made on February 10 this year.

His recall was due to an incident in Tauranga where he smashed the windows of a car with an empty vodka bottle. A report from the Parole Board said Kohu thought the people who had sold him the car had ripped him off, which was why he committed the wilful damage offence.

Kohu also breached his release conditions when he failed to report to his probation officer. He received a one month sentence for the breach and damage on March 19, but the sentence was not cumulative.

Police on Miro St, Ohakune. Photo / Robert Milne, Ruapehu Bulletin

The Parole Board considered Kohu qualified for parole "given that in the next 10 weeks he is unlikely to commit any serious offending".

Ms Schwalger said she didn't "know enough" about Kohu to discuss his past behaviour.
Police weren't yet aware of, or disclosing, whether Kohu's associates had criminal histories, she said.

Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron had spoken to police who told him the situation was fast evolving but under control.

"Which I guess in police speak is, 'we know where they are but we haven't caught them yet'," he said.

"At least one of the perpetrators is well known locally," Mr Cameron said.

Everything in town was calm, and he believed the search was focused on a rural area South of Ohakune and Raetihi, Mr Cameron said.

"We know police are not focused in town."

- NZME.