One of Tom Phillips’ children was holding a gun when police approached the remote campsite, it has been reported.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Phillips’ son was holding a rifle when the police special tactics group arrived at the site on Monday afternoon.
He was persuaded to put it down and the children were taken into care without incident.
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It was confirmed yesterday that Phillips’ oldest daughter Jayda was with him during Monday morning’s dramatic confrontation, which saw the father fatally shot by police. He had opened fire on a police officer after his quad bike was spiked.
She later provided information that allowed police to find the campsite where the two other children were located, around 2km from where the fatal shooting took place.
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"Obviously, the sibling that was with us from the early hours of the morning was very, very helpful to us in terms of understanding that location, what we might find there and how best to talk to the other children involved," Chambers told the Herald yesterday.
"So we have to take on board a whole lot of sources of information to try and find the best way to approach anyone but, in this case, the other young children, to allow us to make sure that they feel safe, that they don’t feel threatened by someone they don't know.
"So the young girl gave us some support around that, and it was successful."
The children are now in the care of Oranga Tamariki.
The injured police officer remains in hospital.
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