Star Metro - New Zealand fugitive father killed in shootout with police

Tom Phillips, who absconded with his three children in December 2021 after a row with his former partner, died in the rolling hill country of the North Island's Waikato region.

His case captivated the country, particularly in the Waikato area and the town of Marokopa where Phillips was suspected of hiding.

The family has eluded capture for nearly four years despite several sightings, including CCTV apparently showing Phillips and a child breaking into a store last month.

Police said they were called in the early hours of Monday morning about a potential burglary at a store by two people on a quad bike.

"Knowing the information that we had previously had, that had seen Tom Phillips also in this area, additional staff were called out and responded to that location," New Zealand Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said.

Police used road spikes to stop the quadbike, which then veered off the road into a bank.

When police approached, Phillips shot an officer in the head with a high-powered rifle. They fell to the ground and called for back up.

"A second patrol unit arrived and has engaged the offender, and he has died at the scene," Rogers said.

The officer who was shot was airlifted to hospital and was undergoing surgery.

- Deadly confrontation -

Images of the scene taken by the Waikato Times show Phillips in the middle of the road, with a rifle in a ditch metres away.

Several bullet holes can be seen in the police vehicles.

Rogers said there was one child with Phillips, adding they were uninjured and being cared for by police.

Police were making "urgent inquiries" about the other two.

"This is the outcome that nobody wanted," Rogers said.

Two police officers with knowledge of the case told AFP under condition of anonymity that authorities had long feared the Phillips case would end in a shootout.

"We were always worried it could end in a deadly confrontation," one of the officers, who were not authorised to speak to the media, said.

Police believed Phillips had several people helping him evade capture, providing food and accommodation since he fled.

They received sporadic reports as to the health of the children and decided against a full-on search for the family so as not to threaten their safety.

In recent weeks they believed Phillips's support network may have crumbled, leading to more brazen burglaries.

"If you went to Marokopa, half the town seemed to support him and half the town thought he was a criminal," an officer told AFP.

"But more recently his support seemed to be running thin."

- 'Long and difficult journey' -

Since fleeing in 2021, police suspected Phillips of committing several crimes and charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The mother of the three children, known as Cat, said she was relieved the ordeal had ended.

"They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," she told national broadcaster RNZ about her children.

"At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today."

She asked for the family's privacy to be respected as the children reintegrate into a "stable and loving environment" after "a long and difficult journey".

K.Evans--SMC