Update: The alleged offender has now been arrested. Read more here.
Cordons have been put in place in the Auckland suburb of Manurewa after a man pointed a pistol at a police officer.
Senior Sergeant Emiel Logan says police stopped a vehicle on Wensworth Rd early on Sunday afternoon. Two people ran from the vehicle and one was cornered at an address on Beeston Cres.
The cornered man then pointed what's believed to be a black pistol at one of the police officers, who backed off. The offender then fled the scene.
He was tracked to an address on Russel Rd but police have been unable to find him.
The armed offender squad was called to the scene.
Sergeant Logan says the officer who was threatened with the firearm was "pretty shaken up" but was being looked after by their colleagues.
He advised the offender to call police and turn themselves in.
"It's always easier to hand yourself in in these situations than us having to track someone down and find them."
He said police didn't know why the offender ran or why he brandished a firearm, but that they had received no reports of him threatening members of the public.
"At this stage there's no reason for anyone to panic or be stressed."
He wouldn't comment on how much longer police would be patrolling the area.
Newshub.
