A person who had been hiding together with his three youngsters within the New Zealand wilderness for almost 4 years is believed to have been shot lifeless after an armed confrontation with police.
Thomas Phillips and his two daughters and son, believed to be aged 9, 10 and 12, had been evading police since December 2021 in a distant a part of the nation’s North Island.
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A police officer was shot within the head and critically injured in the course of the confrontation with Phillips after he’s believed to have robbed a farm provides store within the Waikato area within the early hours of Monday morning, Ms Rogers mentioned.
A second police officer then arrived and Phillips was shot, and regardless of efforts to save lots of him died on the scene, Ms Rogers added.
A toddler who was with Phillips on the time of the theft has been taken into custody and is cooperating with the authorities, police mentioned.
However the whereabouts of the opposite two youngsters stay unknown.
“We hold serious concerns for those children, and our focus is on finding them,” Ms Rogers mentioned.
In August, the household of Phillips broke their silence to enchantment for him to return dwelling.
For the primary time, his household straight appealed to Phillips within the hope that “just maybe, he’s going to see this” and “that we are here for him”.
The youngsters’s mom issued a press release to Radio New Zealand on Monday during which she mentioned she was “deeply relieved” that the “ordeal” for her youngsters had ended.
Phillips didn’t have authorized custody rights for his youngsters, it has been reported.
