Title: Search continues for gunman

Lower Hutt Police and the Armed Offenders Squad are still searching for a man who fled after pointing a handgun at an officer during a routine vehicle stop in Naenae today.

Inspector Geoff Gwyn, Lower Hutt Police Response Manager, said police must treat the weapon as real, until they have information that proves otherwise.

"Some imitation weapons look so realistic that we simply won't know what we're dealing with until we find the man and the weapon," he said. "Until this happens we're treating the weapon as real."

Inspector Gwyn said he had no information to indicate that the man sought was posing a direct threat to the public. "We believe we know who we're after, and he's more interested in going to ground and avoiding us."

While the man had gang links, it was a routine traffic matter that saw him stopped by a patrol in Rata Street, Naenae, at 9.30am today.

Properties in the Hutt Valley and Wellington have been searched, so far without success.

ENDS

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