A man upset over a family matter threatened to blow up his house and others around him, prompting the evacuation of an early childhood centre and residents from around 50 nearby homes.
Corey Innocente then pointed a crossbow at the police from an open window of the Nelson house in which he had barricaded himself, and threatened to kill anyone who approached.
He then fired an arrow into the street as a “warning shot”, hitting a parked vehicle, and said the police would “have to kill him, as he would kill them if they approached”.
The 36-year-old has pleaded guilty in the Nelson District Court to charges linked to his threats after the incident near the central city last month.
Name suppression lapsed at yesterday’s appearance, after Innocente admitted charges of threatening to kill members of the public and the police, and threatening grievous bodily harm after the hours-long incident on October 23.
It sparked a large response by the Armed Offenders Squad and police negotiation team.
Innocente was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a compound bow and crossbow, and wilful damage.
Police said they received a report of a person making threats inside a private address on Hardy St East about 3.30pm that day.
The summary of facts said Innocente had that morning been navigating a family matter and was unhappy with the outcome.
He told them that he had a firearm and explosives and had barricaded himself in his flat. He threatened to blow up the address if his demands to speak to a police sergeant were not met.
Because of the potential blast radius and risk to the public of a firearm being discharged in a residential area, police evacuated occupants of all buildings within about 100m of Innocente.
This included the childhood centre, which went into a full lockdown and led to the evacuation of all children with help from armed police.
About 50 homes were evacuated by police in the streets surrounding Innocente’s address.
An evacuation centre was set up at nearby Nelson Central School to accommodate those who had nowhere else to go.
While Innocente was barricaded in his home, he then fired the arrow as a warning shot, with the arrow embedding itself into a car across the street.
He continued to speak with the police communicator, police negotiation team and police staff who were within shouting distance of his address until the matter was resolved and he was arrested at 8.19pm that night.
Throughout the five-hour standoff, Innocente made repeated threats to kill people, stating he would shoot members of the public, police, and blow up the dwelling, killing any people nearby, police said.
They said it caused significant disruption to members of the public who lived in the area, and those attempting to pass through.
“This became particularly problematic as this incident occurred during the busy school pick up time and there are several schools and daycares in that area,” police said.
The cordons were lifted later that night and residents were able to return to their homes.
Innocente, who was supported by several people in the public gallery during his court appearance the following day, said “I love you all”, as he was led from the dock.
Yesterday, as he returned to court on screen via video link from prison where he was being held on remand, he made heart signs with his hands to family members seated in the gallery.
He told police after his arrest that he was sorry for what he did, but that he was frustrated over the “lack of support” with regard to the family matter.
Innocente was remanded in custody for sentencing in January.
