Statement of Superintendent Tony Hill, Canterbury District Commander.
Late last night, Police shot two people following a report of a family harm incident at an address in Clyde Street, Bryndwr.
Sadly, a woman died at the scene and a man sustained critical injuries.
The man is now in a stable condition in hospital. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening at this time.
These incidents are extremely distressing for all involved, and our number one priority is to offer support to the family of the two people shot, as they come to terms with what has happened. Attending Police staff are also being provided the necessary support.
Police were called to the property about 11pm, after receiving a 111 call from a person who was not present at the address. They told the emergency calltaker that the man was allegedly armed with a knife and threatening to hurt both himself and his partner.
Due to information provided to Police at the time, officers established a safe forward point and made a tactical decision to arm themselves.
At that point, a woman ran out of the house, closely followed by the man, who was in possession of a hunting knife.
Police believed the woman was at risk of imminent serious harm and fired a single shot, which struck the man.
As an officer immediately approached the man to provide first aid, the woman picked up the knife and began to threaten the officers.
Despite an appeal for her to put the weapon down, she advanced on Police, brandishing the knife.
A second shot was fired, hitting the woman.
Officers immediately provided medical assistance, however she died at the scene.
Support is in place for the 10 officers who were in attendance at the time of the shooting.
Cordons remain in place at the address and a scene examination will be carried out over the next few days.
I want to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat following the events overnight.
I also want to acknowledge the difficult situation our staff found themselves in last night. Drawing a firearm is one of the last things a Police officer wants to do, and this will likely be the most significant decision they will make in their Police career.
A critical incident investigation is ongoing, and the matter has been referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).
Image credit: Joshua Coleman
10 cops vs a woman with a knife, what a bunch of trigger happy meatheads. Would a non fatal shoulder or leg shot be that hard, mace, stun gun? All seems very ameteur. FTP.
Really? All I can say is play silly games win silly prizes. This type of nutty behaviour from feral people who get more from the taxpayer in a week than I earn is why I will no longer help anyone, they are likely to turn on you.
So tired of this. But this is what you get when you pay people to habe kids with no accountability, they grow up into this type of feral.
Sounds cruel for me to say all that but it is what it is. Darwinism.
Harsh but fair!
I concur Lyall. There is absolutely zero need for the police to shoot someone. There is no significant threat by someone with a knife if the cops are away from the end of the blade. Cops are amateurs. It is common knowledge among cops that if there is a ‘domestic’ that it is common for both waring parties to turn on the cops and make them into villains. Therefore they should have been prepared for the woman to pick up the knife and have a non lethal strategy to deal with the situation. It does not get any lower than a woman calling for assistance from the police to be killed by the police who were called to protect her.
NZ cops kill more people with weapons than a lot of other nations. Maybe time to give them tasers instead?
Exactly.