AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
Tom Phillips, a fugitive who vanished into the New Zealand wilderness with his three children in 2021 after a dispute with their mother, was fatally shot by police during a burglary at a rural farm supply store. Responding to a report of two people on a quad bike, police laid spikes, stopping the vehicle. An officer was shot at close range and injured. A second patrol unit arrived and engaged with the offender, who died at the scene. One of Phillips’ children was found at the scene, prompting an urgent search for the other two. The children’s mother expressed relief the ordeal was over, but sadness at the outcome.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
A fugitive father who had been hiding in New Zealand’s rugged wilderness with his three children for nearly four years has been shot dead by police during an armed burglary, police confirmed on Monday.
Tom Phillips fled into the Waikato wilderness with his children Ember, now 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, just before Christmas 2021, following a dispute with their mother.
Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said police were called to a commercial property at 2.30am after reports of a burglary at a rural farm supply store in Piopio.
“Information came to police that described two people on a quad bike, dressed in farm clothing and wearing headlamps,” Rogers said.
The quad bike was observed traveling along a rural road, with items from the store attached. Police officers laid spikes at an intersection, which the quad bike ran over, she said.
The bike came to rest on the road and an officer attending the scene was “confronted by gunfire at close range”.
“Our officer has been struck in the head … soon after a second patrol unit arrived and engaged the offender,” she said, adding the offender died at the scene.
“The formal identification of this male is yet to take place, but we believe him to be Tom Phillips.”
Rogers said one of his children was located at the scene, as well as multiple firearms.
“We are making urgent inquiries to locate Tom Phillips’ other children who we hold serious concerns for.
“The child located at the scene is being provided wrap around support, and we will not be providing any other comment at this time on their location.”
map of piopio
Phillips was given immediate first aid but died at the scene, Rogers said. The police officer suffered critical injuries and is undergoing surgery at hospital.
“This has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved. It has been confronting and challenging in a small, rural, isolated location,” Rogers said.
In a statement to RNZ, the mother of the three children, known as Cat, said she was relieved the ordeal had come to an end but was “saddened by how events had unfolded”.
“Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved,” she said.
“Your compassion has sustained us,” she said.
The family would be working with government agencies to support the safe return and reconnection of the children, she said.
“They have endured a long and difficult journey, and we ask for privacy as we help them adjust and reintegrate into a stable and loving environment.”
The vast Waikato region, where Phillips was presumed hiding, is made up of long sweeping coastline to the west, forested terrain and farmland in the centre, limestone cave networks to the north and a smattering of small rural towns and settlements throughout.
Before he disappeared, many New Zealanders would have struggled to pick it out on a map. It is a quiet, isolated settlement in the Waikato, two hours from the nearest city, Hamilton, with one long winding road in and out of the densely forested and hilly landscape.
The remoteness of the landscape frustrated police attempts to locate Phillips.
The case has fascinated New Zealanders, who have struggled to understand how, in a country of close-knit communities, Phillips could have evaded detection. While there was no suggestion his family helped Phillips, the question of how he managed to conceal himself and his three children – and survive – in the harsh terrain puzzled the nation, leading to speculation others in the community may have aided him.
