A teenager detained by police after schools north of Auckland were put into lockdown today is having his mental health assessed.
Whangaparaoa College Photo: http://www.wgpcollege.school.nz/
The police responded to reports of a man who was possibly armed with a knife at about 11.30am.
Officers were stationed at Whangaparaoa College and Whangaparaoa Primary School, and other schools went into voluntary lockdown.
A man, 18, was found without a weapon at a petrol station at about 12.55pm.
The area commander for the police in Rodney, Inspector Mark Fergus, said members of the public were calm while the manhunt was underway.
"The situation was well-controlled by all of the schools involved, who followed our instructions and took sensible precautions to keep the students safe whilst we continued the search," he said.
"We'd like to thank the many members of the community who helped us this morning by remaining calm, following instructions and allowing us to do our job."
Mr Fergus said any decision on charges would be made following the mental health assessment.
