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A man has been arrested after allegedly hitting a group of schoolboy cyclists in a stolen car and strangling a dog to death on a busy street in Auckland.
The 49-year-old would be facing 14 charges, police said on Wednesday afternoon, and was under police guard at Auckland City Hospital.
The charges included assault with a weapon, ill treatment of an animal, dangerous driving and aggravated assault.
Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Sunny Patel said there was no ongoing risk to the community, but one of the teenage boys was in a critical condition in hospital and had undergone surgery.
The two other boys were in a serious and moderate condition in hospital.
The teenagers, students at Auckland Grammar School, had been training as part of a cycling club, he said.
Patel said the parents of the boys had been advised and were at their sides in hospital.
"I know all of us will have them in our thoughts today. These boys were part of a cycling club, doing something they enjoyed.
"This will be a life-altering event."
The school's headmaster, Tim O'Connor, said in a letter to parents his immediate priority was the health, safety and well-being of the affected students and their families.
"We are also ensuring that counselling and support services are made available to members of our wider school community who have been impacted by this incident.
"Our thoughts are with the boys and families affected, and out of respect for their privacy, we will not be making any further comment at this time."
O'Connor advised parents concerned about how the incident had affected their sons or their friends to contact school counsellors.
The school was cooperating with the police investigation, he said.
What happened, according to police
Police said they were called to reports of a serious assault at the intersection of Ranfurly Rd and Manukau Rd about 7am.
What followed were described by Patel as six separate incidents.
Acting Detective Inspector Craig Bolton, of Auckland City CIB, said a man approached a female victim and without warning assaulted her, causing bruising to her face, head and upper body.
"A member of the public stopped to assist the victim, before this offender has stolen the good Samaritan's vehicle.”
Patel confirmed the woman was jogging when she was assaulted by the man who was not wearing any pants, and three or four members of the public came to help her.
"The offender then fled in the stolen vehicle, hitting several vehicles before striking three cyclists who were riding on Manukau Rd."
After crashing the vehicle, the offender got out of it and approached a woman walking her dogs.
"The offender has subjected one of the dogs to a violent assault, and sadly the dog has died at the scene," Bolton said.
Patel said police attempted to taser the man once and then were able to taser him and pull him off the dog, which had been strangled.
"This has all taken place in full view of the public going about their morning commute."
Police were assisting the dog walker, Patel said, who was "very, very upset".
‘Crazy’ sound
Several smashed vehicles could be seen inside a police cordon, along with a crumpled bicycle next to a red puffer jacket.
Petrol station worker Manthan Patel said he heard a "crazy" sound before he witnessed a man driving a car crash into another vehicle.
He said the man then got out of the car and attacked a dog.
A staff member at Forbes Homemade Gourmet cafe in Ranfurly Rd told RNZ she had seen the incident unfold.
"There was a guy shouting in the streets next to where I'm working. It seemed as though he had no pants on."
She was worried that he could enter the workplace, so decided to call police.
Soon after, customers told cafe staff that the man had crashed a car and punched a woman, she said.
Another witness told the New Zealand Herald they saw the man fighting with a woman at the intersection of Manukau Rd and Mt St John Ave, where he "threw punches", knocking the woman to the ground and stealing her keys.
After taking off in an old SUV and damaging nearby vehicles, the witness told the Herald the man drove into a group of cyclists "hitting one and sending them flying over the top of the car".
Another witness told the Herald he saw a man wandering around with "no pants, a T-shirt and scarf on".
A worker at Steam wand cafe just outside the Manukau Rd cordon said they heard a man screaming about 7am, followed by the screams of a woman. Police sped past the cafe soon after.
A cordon was in place in Manukau Rd between Ranfurly Rd and Queen Mary Ave.
"This was an incredibly violent event which has unfolded very quickly. We acknowledge it has impacted many innocent people who were just going about their mornings," Bolton said.
"Police are aware many people witnessed this incident, and we are appealing to the public for information and dashcam footage to come forward."
Campbell Cres is closed to Puriri Dr.
Drivers have contacted RNZ reporting a backlog of traffic in the area.
In an alert to passengers, Auckland Transport said buses are not stopping in the area at present.
There would be an increased police presence in the area while inquiries are ongoing.
Offender 'known to police' - Seymour
Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Epsom, David Seymour, said the incident will shock people.
"People may be worried that this was some sort of premeditated terror-type attack, it was not that.
"It was a person known to police for mental health illness who has done something absolutely awful but not premeditated the way some people may fear."
He said Epsom was a tight-knit community.
"We don't expect things like this to happen here, or anywhere for that matter.
"Our thoughts will be with people affected by the incident, hoping they recover well and quickly."
