Friday, 30 September 2011 - 3:11pm |
National News

Arrests follow incident that required schools to lock down

1 min read

Peak hour traffic was bought to a standstill in East Hamilton this morning as Police responded to reports of a group of a person with a firearm resulting in two schools having to enact emergency plans to safeguard students.

Senior Sergeant Andrew O'Reilly of the Hamilton Police said officers were responding to reports of a vehicle being driven around the City in which a firearm was seen.

"That car was found at a Clyde St address resulting in the property being cordoned off and searched with the support of the Waikato Armed Offenders Squad.

"Given the heavy traffic flow at the time and the number of students in the area on their way to school establishing a cordon was assessed as the most appropriate way of ensuring the safety of our staff and the public."

No firearm was found in the car however a small amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia was located and three men, all aged in their early twenties were arrested on drug related charges.

"Lockdown procedures are part of standard emergency plans each school has in place with Police and in the case this morning it is reassuring these were enacted without issue," said Mr O'Reilly."

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