AUCKLAND, New Zealand - This morning police shot dead Anthony Ratahi, 46, from Stratford after he took a woman believed to be his ex girlfriend, hostage at gunpoint at a Taranaki Hotel last night.Ratahi was released from jail on July 6 after serving eight weeks, Corrections Department community probation services general manager Katrina Casey said in a statement.
- The department would not disclose what Ratahi had been jailed for or the total length of his sentence. He had reportedly been charged previously over assaulting a woman using a knife and injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. .
Acting District Commander Pat Handcock told media this afternoon Ratahi went armed into the restaurant at the Headlands hotel where there were about 10-16 patrons, about 10.45pm. He produced a hand gun to a woman he knew, who worked at the restaurant, and shouted at patrons to leave.- "He then barricaded himself into the building holding the female victim hostage and negotiations between police and the man continued on and off throughout the night, mainly by telephone," Mr Handcock said.
- Mr Handcock said police challenged him, deployed a police dog and "there was a struggle prior to the discharge of a police firearm". But as it was "very early" in the investigation, he was not prepared to discus the details and circumstances of the shooting. Ratahi died at the scene.
The police Officers stormed a small villa next to the hotel at about 10.20am, and loud yelling and bangs, believed to be shots, were heard. The hostage, a 30-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries during her ordeal. She was checked by ambulance staff and did not require hospital treatment, he said.
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