A manhunt lasting more than 24 hours in Palmerston North that saw residents unable to go home and a school and kindergarten put in lockdown has ended with Caleb Kovaleski surrendering to police.

Police say the standoff in the suburb of Cloverlea has been resolved without injury or further incident this afternoon.

Kovaleski surrendered to police at about 4.15pm and has been arrested and taken into custody.

The 25-year-old allegedly fled from officers in the suburb yesterday morning.

Police cordoned off the area with concerns he had a gun, but all cordons were lifted this evening and residents allowed to return to their homes.

A school and kindergarten were placed on lockdown for much of yesterday afternoon, while some residents were unable to return to their homes last night.

In the final minutes of the stand-off, police were heard telling someone to come out with their hands up, having surrounded a house.

Manawatu Area Commander Inspector Sarah Stewart has praised the local community who were caught up in the incident.

"I would particularly like to acknowledge the patience, assistance and support of the local community, who have rallied together to support each other and the police while we worked to resolve the situation," she said.

"Our focus will now turn to facilitating the safe return of people to their homes, and on the criminal investigation that will follow.

"This will include ongoing scene examinations at the property involved."

Earlier this afternoon Inspector Stewart appealed to Kovaleski to hand himself in to police for his own safety and the safety of the Cloverlea community.