A 49-year-old man is in custody after firing multiple shots at police and hitting a police dog several times with a rifle on Auckland's North Shore last night.
The drama began on Awaruku Rd, Torbay about 5.15pm after police received reports of a "disturbed" man brandishing an air rifle.
The man became increasingly aggressive and began firing random shots from the high-powered weapon, including at the police helicopter which was circling above.
Police lost sight of the man after he took cover but set up a cordon to contain him.
Police said the cordon had to cover quite a wide area because the area included a large area of heavy bush.
The boundaries of the affected area were Awaruku Drive, Stredwick Drive, and Glenvar Rd.
Residents in the immediate vicinity were contacted by phone and asked to remain inside.
The Armed Offender Squad established that the man was in his house, and police negotiators established phone contact with him.
He was initially unresponsive to efforts to communicate and eventually charged out of the house firing about 10 shots at officers, police said.
A police dog was released and managed to apprehend the man, but received several hard blows from the rifle. The dog was treated by a vet.
The man was finally taken into custody about 8.15pm and taken to hospital for treatment of dog bites. He is believed to have only superficial injuries.
Late this evening there had been no decision about what charges will be laid and enquires are continuing to establish the reasons for the incident.
Police expect to lift the cordon once the armed offenders squad has cleared the house and confirmed it is safe.
They said they had calls complaining about the noise from their helicopter but said it was necessary to resolve a "potentially very dangerous situation". They thanked residents for their patience.
