Omaha residents were startled by the appearance of two police helicopters circling the skies on Sunday, January 5th.

The two choppers that seemed to be focused mostly on the southern end of Omaha were spotted by residents at around half past five in the evening. 

The addition of two police cars at the end of Mangatawhiri Road added to people's concern, with locals taking to the community Facebook pages to try and work out what was happening. “Might lock the doors in case there is a mad man running about” commented one worried Omaha inhabitant.

Local speculation produced theories from a simple police chopper training exercise to a high-speed chase of some kids on a golf cart (a common issue in Omaha) down the main road.

At 6:22 p.m the reason for all the fuss was revealed. A person had been seen carrying what was initially thought to be a firearm. After a thorough check of the area, police were confident that there was no threat to residents and stood down. With a potential threat this serious, it is comforting to see the response was so extreme.