Footage of Police breaking the botttom of a house to try a catch a gunman.

A wounded and limping man is in custody after a shoot-out with police in south Auckland.

The 42-year-old was wanted after failing to appear in court.

Police said they spotted him at 10am on Tuesday and then tracked him to the crawlspace of a Manurewa house where he holed up for about two hours.

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff.co.nz Armed police escort a wanted man from a Mahia Road house in South Auckland.

He had a gun and shots were allegedly fired by both sides.

He is not believed to have known the residents of the house, which had to be evacuated.

A neighbour said an elderly couple was at home in the house when the man hid from cops.

Lawrence Smith Armed Offenders Squad position themselves outside a house on Mahia Road in South Auckland.

Harpreet Singh lives next door to the Mahia Rd house where the man was arrested.



He said the first thing he saw was a group of police officers and dogs jump his back fence.



"I tried to go and open the front door but the police said 'Stay inside, stay inside'."



Singh filmed out his window while police searched for the man.



His footage showed them smashing at the foundations with a giant hammer to gain access to the crawl-space.



Singh says his neighbours are "very nice" people who are good friends of his.



The family includes an elderly couple, a couple in their 30s and a child of intermediate school age.



The older couple were the only people at home during the stand-off, he says.



"The old lady and the old man, they heard a noise from under the house and they actually went and had a look but didn't hear anything."



The next thing they knew the police were surrounding their house, he said.



About 11.30am Singh was told to leave his house as it was too dangerous to remain there.



He went to a friend's place nearby until the incident was over.







Other residents and workers in the area say they have been told by police not to make any statements to media.

Police cordons were set up on Mahia Road, Rimu Road, Christmas Road and Tawa Crescent while negotiations took place.

Businesses nearby reported seeing a number of police cars, police with guns and a helicopter circling.

Lawrence Smith Armed police wait outside a South Auckland home.

A reporter at the scene said a shirtless, limping man was taken outside about 1pm and spoken to by police and paramedics.

The man had minor injuries but police were not sure what caused those at this stage.

Detective Inspector Gary Lendrum said a full investigation into the incident was under way and the Independent Police Conduct Authority has been notified.

Police were still looking for the vehicle from which the man fled, a white BMW X3 station wagon, registration HZQ478.

Anyone with information should contact Counties Manukau Police on 09 263 2709.

The man will appear in Manukau District Court facing various charges in relation to the incident.