Armed police swarm LynnMall Shopping Centre, cinema cleared; man arrested, one still on run
- Armed police evacuated LynnMall in West Auckland searching for a person of interest.
- Shoppers reported hearing a “boom” and seeing a man run into the mall.
- Police confirmed no shots were fired; a person was believed to be arrested near Cotton On.
A person has been arrested and another remains on the run after police swarmed a West Auckland mall hunting for two people after an armed robbery in a neighbouring suburb.
The incident saw New Lynn’s LynnMall Shopping Centre locked down and moviegoers urgently ushered out of screenings at the theatre while armed police searched for the pair.
Police said they had arrested one man and inquiries were ongoing to locate the second suspect after a person reported being robbed by two men and threatened with a firearm in Batkin Rd, New Windsor.
Police said the men fled in the victim’s vehicle, which was tracked by the police Eagle helicopter to LynnMall on Great North Rd.
“Two occupants of the car entered the mall on foot, prompting police to temporarily restrict access as a precaution. After an extensive search, police took one suspect into custody and a firearm was also recovered.”
A man told the Herald he wasin the Reading Cinema watching Mission Impossible when the lights came on and a member of staff came in shouting that everyone should leave the building “because the police are here”.
In a supplied video, those watching the film are evacuated to the first-floor lobby while multiple police officers sweep the theatre complex, including bathrooms.
Two officers can be seen approaching the disabled toilets yelling: “Armed police, open the door.”
“It was mostly orderly, but the cops were clearing the entire cinema and leaving no area to guess work,” said the movie buff.
The whole search probably took 10 to 15 minutes.
“The manager on shift was the junior manager. She was very young but she did a great job managing the evacuation from the screens.”
‘Boom’: Large police presence, shoppers hear gunshots
Earlier, eyewitnesses reported hearing what they thought were gunshots near the mall.
A staff member at the RSA New Lynn, which is behind the mall, said they rushed outside after they believed they heard two gunshots.
“We saw a person running through the carpark. I don’t know if he was running because of the gunshots or if he was being chased or what.“
The staffer said they saw several police cars arrive shortly afterwards.
“We just saw police with guns.”
The RSA did not go into lockdown, she said. Police said no shots had been fired.
As the incident unfolded this evening, police could be seen gathered inside the mall’s locked doors outside the entrance to Woolworths.
The same supermarket was the scene of a terror attack in 2021 where five shoppers were stabbed and the attacker, Ahamed Samsudeen, was shot by specialist undercover police.
A staff member said today’s incident happened about 5.15pm.
Another woman told the Herald she was waiting for her kids in the Bay Six carpark when she heard a “boom”.
She said she saw a man run very fast and he yelled something before he entered the mall.
Other members of the public in the area have taken to social media to share what they saw.
One person said the man at the centre of the callout was driving a car and crashed before running into the mall and yelling. Seconds later, armed police arrived.
Another bystander said they saw at least five police officers with guns.
Another person said he and his wife saw a man running through the mall as officers gave chase.
One man posted a video while he walked around the carpark filled with police. “I heard the gunshots just before, and I was running.”
Exits, entrances blocked by police
Police could be seen parking their vehicles across the entrances and exits of the carparks at the rear of the shopping centre.
The police helicopter was also flying overhead.
A worker inside the mall told the Herald that while the mall had not been evacuated, the entrance near the shop where he worked was blocked by police.
The worker said there were multiple police officers standing guard near their shopfront, but they did not tell him what was happening.
A man told the Herald that he arrived at the mall just before 6pm when he saw two “heavily armed” police officers.
He said one of them was holding a Bushmaster rifle in the lobby entrance.
Between 20 and 30 people were outside the entrance after the police blocked access to the mall.
A retail worker in the mall at the time of the incident said they saw police arrive about 5.15pm.
Fifteen minutes later, the worker said he “heard on the PA the duty manager for the mall announcing that the mall is being evacuated”.
He said he saw police with someone near the Cotton On store. He believed a person had been arrested.
One of many videos posted to social media shows the heavy police presence in the busy carpark.
Meanwhile, patrons of the Workshop bar in West Auckland – less than a kilometre from the New Lynn armed police call-out – were shut into the bar after a man tried to smash through the glazed door.
The bar had about 15 people watching a Warriors match when an agitated man walked past the bar and smashed the ashtrays on tables out the front of the bar.
The man was seen filming people inside the bar and pointed his fingers like a gun.
He then grabbed chairs and a table from the front of the bar and smashed the front door.
A group of people confronted the man and tried to calm him down. Police were called and arrived about 10 minutes later.