A man fatally shot by police in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe was known to police and had active charges against him.
The 34-year-old died in hospital on Thursday evening shortly after being shot three times by officers after a tense standoff which lasted hours.
Counties Manukau district commander superintendent Jill Rogers said specialist negotiators had tried to talk the man down after shots were fired into a neighbouring home, and he was seen holding a shotgun.
"He continued to show aggressive and erratic behaviour," she said.
At around 8:30pm, two and a half hours after police arrived at the Avis Avenue address, the man emerged from the house.
"He showed up outside the house unexpectedly and brandished a firearm."
He refused to lower the shotgun, and was shot three times by police. Rogers said officers on the scene immediately gave the man first aid, with the assistance of specialist paramedics.
He was then taken to Middlemore Hospital where he died at 10.30pm.
"It is the worst possible decision for a police officer to take someone's life," said Rogers.
"Anything involving firearms is of the upper end of what police have to deal with."
Rogers said the man will be publicly identified in the next 24 hours after police have contacted his family in New Zealand and Australia.
She confirmed the man was known to police and had active charges against him.
A neighbour told The AM Show the incident terrified his wife and young son.
"She was inside, scared. My son was scared too, he didn't want to go to school - he said he wanted to stay with his nana," Feras Mousses said on Friday.
Mousses was at work and was not allowed to pass through the police cordon to be with his family.
It's a similar story for another neighbour, who did not want to be identified.
They told The AM Show they weren't allowed home at all and slept in their car.
"This morning I asked if I could go home and take a shower and they said 'no' - so now I have to go to work without it."
A series of investigations are underway including an independent investigation from the IPCA, an internal inquiry and a critical incident investigation.
