Neighbouring residents to Kokiri Cres, including Ralph Launiuvao, return home feeling safe after gunman was found dead in a Porirua house.

Silence greeted police through most of the night as they tried to negotiate with a gunman, who they later found dead.

Pita Tekira, 29, is believed to be the man who killed a police dog before barricading himself in a house on Kokiri Cres, Porirua, north of Wellington.

It is believed he shot himself.

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ The hearse removing the gunman's body from Kokiri Cres, Porirua.

A police dog named Gazza was shot and killed and an officer injured after he leapt out of a second-storey window ​of the house on Friday morning, sparking a siege that continued until Saturday morning.

READ MORE:

* Sun sets on Porirua stand-off

* It's over: Porirua siege as it happened

* Tales from the front line

* Shot police dog honoured for bravery

* Police attacked by dog during search at property on Christchurch's Yaldhurst Rd

ROSS GIBLIN\Fairfax Porirua residents from around Kokiri Cr, evacuated to Horouata Marae overnight, discover the man at the centre of the incident is dead.

On Saturday morning police gained access to the ground floor of the house and used a remote camera to confirm Tekira's body was in a room on the upper level. He was alone and there was a firearm present.

Tekira had "put some effort into barricading himself into an upper level of the house", Wellington District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said.

"We'd gone through a long process as part of negotiations. Eventually we knew had to enter and confirm what had happened at the address," Hoyle said.

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ The neighbourhood where the shooting occurred.

Police had been in communication with Tekira for the best part of the night. The last communication from Tekira was just prior to midnight, Hoyle said.

Police fired no shots during the operation, but "deployed a number of tactical options", including gas canisters, which made loud bangs.

"Despite all our efforts to negotiate with Mr Tekira to seek a safe end to the incident, officers this morning found him dead at the scene.

Stuff.co.nz Police found the gunman's body inside a Porirua house they had surrounded since Friday.

"This is certainly not the outcome that anyone wanted, and our thoughts are now with his whanau as we continue to investigate the circumstances of his death."

A resident who preferred not to be named said the usually-busy street had been "pin-drop quiet" apart from the bangs of the tear gas canisters.

There were no children yelling, and her family and the one next door stayed very quiet.



Odysseus Tipiwai, a 15-year-old local, said Tekira was a nice guy.



He'd only met Pita Tekira a few times, but he didn't expect him to be at the centre of a police stand off.



Tipiwai had seen Tekira around with his kids, and believed Tekira had been living in the neighbourhood since the start of the year.

ROBERT KITCHIN/FAIRFAX NZ A siege following the killing of a police dog has ended, with the gunman found dead.

Police thanked the Porirua community and especially the residents of Kokiri Crescent who had been directly affected by the operation.

"We very much appreciate the community's patience and understanding while police worked to resolve this dangerous situation safely, especially those residents who were unable to return to their homes overnight.

Our thanks also goes to Te Horouta Marae which provided food and accommodation to those residents."

NZ POLICE Pita Rangi Tekira, found dead at a Porirua house where he was holed up.

Police expected the cordons in the area to be lifted once all the necessary scene examinations had taken place.

"However there will continue to be a number of police staff in the area over the coming days while we continue our inquiries into this incident."

The officer injured after jumping to safety from a second story window during the original incident remains in a stable condition in hospital and is receiving medical treatment.

1 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Porirua residents evacuated to Horouata Marae overnight. Nakita Siala, 14 holding her baby niece Alpha Feo. 2 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Helen Feo with her baby niece Alpha Feo, 3 months old, at Horouata Mara. 3 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Cyrus Siala, 8 with a toy gun, at Horouata Marae. He now wants to be a policeman. 4 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ residents evacuated to Horouata Marae. Houses near Kokiri Cres were cleared while an armed man and police faced a standoff. 5 of 13 FAIRFAX NZ Superintenent Sam Hoyle confirms the death of the man at centre of the Porirua siege. 6 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Some of the residents evacuated from their homes. 7 of 13 Supplied Members of the armed offenders squad hunt for a man believed to have shot a police dog. 8 of 13 Police surround a house where an armed offender was initially thought to have been hiding. 9 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Roads are closed around the scene of the shooting. 10 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Police officers and the armed offenders squad are hunting the person who shot and killed a police dog in Porirua. 11 of 13 FACEBOOK Wellington Free Ambulance staff take the injured officer to the waiting helicopter. 12 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Police stand guard near the scene of the shooting. 13 of 13 RICHARD NAFATALI Armed police at the standoff in Kokiri Cres, Porirua.

He and his family are also being supported by his police colleagues.

"We also greatly appreciate the many messages of support that we have received for the injured officer and also for Police dog Gazza who died doing his duty," Hoyle said.

'HARROWING DAY'

LAURA DOONEY/Stuff.co.nz Mayor of Porirua Nick Leggett talks about the effects of the siege on the community.

The police officer involved in the incident had leapt from the window after the police dog - called Gazza - was fatally shot.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon Wellington District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said the officer "jumped out the window immediately after the dog was shot to escape the gunman". The officer sustained fractures, he said.

Porirua resident Richard Nafatali said he saw an injured man wearing a police uniform lying on a stretcher being put in a helicopter that landed on Kokiri Cr.

The man didn't look conscious, Nafatali said. "He wasn't even moving."

Hoyle said it had been a "harrowing day" for all. Police were supporting the injured officer and his family, as well as the dog handler.

Gazza, a four-year-old German Shepherd, died at the scene. He had previously survived an attempted strangling while chasing down a criminal in 2015.







SHOTS AND SCREAMS HEARD

Kokiri Cr resident Pania Birch-Stretch said she was making a cup of tea at about 9.30am when she heard a "loud scream" from outside her kitchen window, coming from two doors down.

"I looked out the window and I saw a lady cop and two guy cops running out the driveway."

She said one of the male police officers was carrying a dog, which had been shot.

"All I saw was all this blood dripping from the dog. I rang my friend because I was quite shocked by what was happening, and then I looked out the window and I saw a guy running from the house with a big gun. It was freaky."

She said the gun reminded her of something out of a video game.

The gunman ran off up the street, chased by an armed police officer.

Police and emergency personnel swarmed to the street, and a police officer was taken away about an hour later, Birch-Stretch said.

"I saw a cop getting gurneyed away."

She said as she watched she was on the phone to her friend, shaking and thinking "what the hell?".