A man allegedly held two people at gunpoint after driving "poorly and very dangerously" through the streets of Auckland, police say.
Police assistant commissioner Richard Chambers says officers were notified of a stolen vehicle from Church St, Penrose on Thursday morning, which subsequently crashed on Great South Rd, Ellerslie.
Chambers says police saw the driver allegedly holding a firearm to the head of a member of the public. Police fired a shot, but the offender was able to steal the car belonging to that individual and escaped.
The member of the public was injured as their car was driven away, Chambers says.
After a pursuit ensued, the car crashed on the corner of Great South Rd and the southeastern highway.
As police approached the crashed car, they saw the offender holding a firearm to the head of a second member of the public. Chambers says police then fired a shot that injured the offender. The member of the public was able to escape.
The offender was arrested, given first aid, and taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
An employee of the Youth Garage dealership told Newshub earlier on Thursday an individual stole the keys for a BMW X5 and then tried to run employees over as he attempted to leave with the car. The driver was reported to police and employees at the dealership are described as "shaken up".
St John say one patient has serious injuries and has been taken to Auckland Hospital, while a second is in a moderate condition and has been taken to Middlemore Hospital.
Earlier, Inspector Kerry Watson told Newshub there had been a "critical incident".
"At this stage, a lot of the facts are unknown. It is going to take some time to ascertain what has actually occurred, but a number of members of the public were threatened."
He said the offender was injured, but couldn't speak to the circumstances leading up to that.
Auckland Transport initially said at 11:05am on Thursday that a crash on Great South Rd and Church St was causing delays. Minutes later, it said there was a "police issue" and that two parts of the road have been closed between Greenlane and Penrose for a "police investigation".
There are closures at Campbell Rd and Main Highway, and Church St and South Eastern Highway. Bus services 321, 670, 743, 295 and 298 are being detoured.
Insp Watson said locations will remain closed for sometime.
One image appears to show emergency services attending to someone on the ground.
Do you know more or have images? Contact Newshub at news@newshub.co.nz
Bystanders report "chaos" at the scene.
"Cop cars and armed cops chasing armed person," one witness said.
An eyewitness called Daniel told Newshub he was sitting in his car when he saw another vehicle cut through the intersection, drive through traffic and and crash into a car.
The driver got out and attempted to carjack a silver Audi. He said he saw the female driver of the Audi get out and drop to the floor seemingly in pain.
Police arrived and apprehended the fleeing driver. He said the woman got into a police car and appeared to be holding her arm.
St John was called to the scene just before 11am on Thursday. Two ambulances, two rapid response vehicles and a manager responded.
