By newshub
Police officers have swarmed Papatoetoe in south Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland on Wednesday evening following a shooting at a hotel.
A police spokesperson told Newshub they responded to a “firearms incident” on Great South Rd at about 6:30pm.
Nobody has been injured, the spokesperson added.
A section of Great South Rd had been closed earlier, between Puhinui Rd and Carlie St, and the public was asked to avoid the area – but a Newshub reporter at the scene said the road has since reopened.
Despite that, the Allenby Park Hotel, where the shooting happened, remains in lockdown.
One woman whose daughter lives at the hotel complex said she rushed to the scene to check on her welfare.
“My daughter’s in there – she’s got a newborn baby. She told us that there was a shooting,” she told Newshub.
“I’m just waiting to see what happened, to go and check on her.”
The woman told Newshub her daughter heard gunshots and arguments.
“She said that there were police dogs and cops [were] busting down doors.”
Insp Kerry Watson said police received a complaint about a man having a gun.
“As we were driving to the location it was updated that shots had been fired. So we arrived and we entered quite promptly because we were worried about the safety of those persons inside.”
Watson said officers cleared several rooms, and soon after discovered the shooter had fled just before police arrived.
“The immediate scene is safe,” he stressed. “The residents can go about their business as normal. More information as it comes to light will be provided.”
He said it was a “long-barrel firearm”.
An investigation is underway and officers will continue to speak with witnesses at the Allenby Park Hotel, he said.
