Police at a roadblock in Albany (Photo: Simon Wong/3 News)
By 3 News online staff
One person is in custody following a police operation on Auckland's North Shore this afternoon.
Two schools and residents were told to stay indoors while the operation was carried out by members of the armed offenders squad and the police Eagle helicopter.
Multiple loud bangs were heard as police fired stun grenades at a house on 321A Albany Highway.
Witness Dan Hawker says police had been using a megaphone to "tell someone to come out of a house with empty hands".
Resident
Sharon Barrett told 3 News her business partner is inside the cordon in
a house on Fearnley Grove. Ms Barrett received a text from him at
1:55pm to say he could hear the police outside and they were preparing
to enter a property.
He told Ms Barrett negotiations had been going on for about 15 minutes.
One woman was put in a police car after trying to drive past the cordon.
The
incident took place in the vicinity of Albany Junior High School on
Appleby Rd. Students and staff were been told to stay inside, and
parents of students told not to go to the school or phone the office, so
that the lines could be kept clear for the police.
In an email to parents, the school said no one was in any danger and there was "no need to panic".
Kristin School, on Albany Highway, was also locked down.
"Students
are in secure rooms and we will be awaiting further information from
the police before any other action takes place," the school said on its
website.
Parents collecting children are asked
to be tolerant as there may be disruptions or road closures nearby.
School buses will redirected as soon as the operation is completed.
Earlier this afternoon, Albany Junior High Principal Mike Jackson sent an email to students apologising for the disruption.
"Keeping you inside is a very sensible precaution," he said.
"I know that the day finishes in less than an hour, but I cannot let you go home until the police tell me I can."
Mr Jackson thanked students for their cooperation and encouraged them to "relax, keep calm and enjoy the free time".
He said he was proud of how his students had cooperated with the lockdown.
Albany
resident Hamish Anderson, whose sister was locked down at Albany Junior
High, says he experienced a similar situation eight years ago when he
was a student at the school.
He says classrooms were locked and blinds were drawn. However, he was not worried about his sister's safety.
3 News Mon, 13 May 2013 3:07p.m
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