A New Zealand father who had been hiding in remote bush with his three children for almost four years has been shot dead in a gunfight with police.
Tom Phillips was killed early Monday after he and one of his children broke into a supply store in Piopio, a small rural town in the Waikato region, police said. Fleeing at about 2.45 a.m. on a quad bike loaded with items, they ran over road spikes set by police, where the shoot-out began.
The child was unharmed but a police officer was shot in the head and shoulder and seriously injured. There were also grave concerns for the two children still missing, but police said later Monday they have now been found.
“I'm pleased to say they are unharmed, and are now safe,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said. “They were located about 4.30 p.m., in bush, roughly two kilometers from the location where Tom Phillips died.”
Phillips disappeared with the children — now aged 9, 10 and 12 — in December 2021 amid a custody dispute with their mother. His ability to evade capture for so long, and concerns for the welfare of the children, have made headlines in New Zealand and attracted attention abroad.
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