Tatiana Gibbs/Stuff
Police block off Avonhead Rd during an armed standoff with a person inside a house
Armed police are in a standoff with a person who has locked themselves in a house in Avonhead, Christchurch.
According to police, they are responding to an incident at a residential address on Beatrice Pl.
“[We] are encouraging a person to come outside of the premises.”
The person is thought to have a firearm and be alone at the address, police said.
Do you know more? Email ryan.anderson@stuff.co.nz
Police were advising that locals avoid the area while the situation was resolved. Some nearby residents had been evacuated as a precaution, they said.
A local resident, who lives just down from the house, said the man had come to the front window at the request of police and appeared to be speaking with them.
He was armed with a rifle, the resident said.
Nearly 300m of Avonhead Rd was blocked off to the public.
Police could be heard trying to speak with the person over a megaphone just after 7pm.
“Do the right thing mate, not just for yourself, but for your family and your community around you,” they said.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, all you need to do is come out.”
The police cordon started at Grahams Rd and ended at Coniston Ave, they said.
The resident said that they had been asked to stay inside from around 2.30pm.
Police had been making attempts over a megaphone to ask the person to come out since then, she said.
They’re guaranteeing safety and saying that his family want him to come out, she said.
“Cops down this end of the street are yelling at my neighbours to get back inside.
“The situation is not resolved so far.”
Another resident, said that police dogs were at the scene and road spikes were across the road.
It looked a bit like they were expecting someone to flee, they said.
A passerby said the armed police had shown up about 1pm, while they had been going for a walk.
Police with rifles were outside the address, they said, and some had their guns pointed at the house.