WELLINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Police continued to respond to a gunman incident at a property in Napier on Monday night.

Local police confirmed that they were called to the incident following a report of concern at around 2:15 p.m. Monday afternoon.

The Armed Offenders Squad and the police negotiation team are in attendance.

It is reported by local media that a suspected man with a gun is currently holding up a home on Alexander Avenue, Onekawa, Napier.

Armed police remain at the house with a cordon and road spikes in place. Emergency services are also seen standing-by nearby.

According to the police media release, local residents that cannot return home were offered to stay at nearby church and residents currently inside the cordons are asked to remain indoors until the incident is resolved.

The operation may be ongoing overnight.

Three schools in the Onekawa area were in lock-down for a period of time this afternoon. The lock-down was lifted at around 3:45 p.m.