NZ fugitive father shot and killed by police after attempted burglary in Waikato; one child arrested with fears for two others
PGG Wrightson chief executive Stephen Guerin said the alarm at the Piopio shop was triggered in the early hours of the morning.
The sighting of the Phillips family on farmland near Marokopa in 2024.Credit: TVNZ
He said the burglars entered the shop, but he had no idea if anything was taken.
“The police have control of the premises, and they will be in touch in due course.”
In a message to staff, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed the details of the incident.
“A confrontation resulted, during which a colleague has been shot and injured. The officer has been taken to a hospital in a serious condition, but I advised he is conscious and talking to his fellow officers,” he said.
“The suspect has been shot by police and has died. A second person has been taken into custody.”
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A resident on Te Anga Road told Stuff they had noticed more traffic on the road and “a few helicopters going over”. Another local woman said she heard helicopters flying overhead about 3am or 4am.
The road was cordoned off about 10 kilometres from Waitomo Caves on Monday morning, and a person at the cordon said a child was seen being taken out of the area in the back of a police car.
“A significant police operation is under way,” a spokesperson said. “Police ask media and members of the public to respect the police operation and cordons that are now in place to ensure nobody is put at risk.”
Tom Phillips.Credit: New Zealand Police
The road closure was likely to be in place for “a couple of days”, they added.
Monday morning’s incident is to the east of Marokopa, where fugitive Tom Phillips was believed to have been hiding in the bush.
Phillips first went bush with his three children – Jayda, Maverick and Ember – in September 2021.
Police scoured the rugged coastline around Marokopa for him, but he turned up two weeks later.
Phillips and the children went back on the run in December 2021 and Phillips is suspected to have been involved in a series of burglaries and a robbery in the King Country in the years since.
More to come
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