New Zealand fugitive father Tom Phillips has been shot dead by police investigating an armed burglary, police say. He had been hiding in wilderness with his three children \u2013 now aged nine, 10 and 12 \u2013 for nearly four years following a custody dispute with their mother.<\/p>\n
Police were alerted to the burglary about 2.30am on Monday and pursued two suspects on a quad bike before coming under fire from one of them from a high-powered rifle, authorities said. Police returned fire, killing the shooter, who they believe to be Phillips, pending formal identification.<\/p>\n
A police officer sustained critical but survivable injuries and was undergoing the first of many surgeries at hospital, police said.<\/p>\n
One of Phillips\u2019 children was located at the scene, as well as multiple firearms, said police deputy commissioner Jill Rogers. The child was being given \u201cwrap-around support\u201d and was reportedly cooperating with police.<\/p>\n
Hours later, authorities located Phillips\u2019s children, two of whom were believed to be in the wilderness, amid concerns they would be alone in temperatures that were forecast to reach freezing overnight. Rogers said they were found at a local campsite, adding: \u201cI can confirm that the children are well and uninjured, and they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Vehicles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3764.jpg\")
Vehicles drive through a roadblock from the scene of the fatal shooting near the town of Piopio, New Zealand, on Monday. Photograph: Dj Mills\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Prime minister Christopher Luxon said the morning\u2019s events were \u201csad and absolutely tragic\u201d and \u201cthis is not what anybody wanted to happen today\u201d. Rogers said: \u201cThis has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved. It has been confronting and challenging in a small, rural, isolated location.\u201d Waitomo mayor John Robertson said it was the worst possible outcome for the community.<\/p>\n
The mother of the three children<\/a>, known as Cat, said in a statement to Radio New Zealand that she was relieved the ordeal had come to an end but was \u201csaddened by how events had unfolded\u201d. Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.31 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Phillips’ two missing children found \u2013 police<\/p>\n Police say Tom Phillips\u2019 two missing children have been found.<\/p>\n New Zealand acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers was quoted as saying:<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell you with great relief this evening that soon after 4.30 today we\u2019ve located Tom Phillips\u2019 remaining children.\u201d<\/p>\n Rogers said the two children were unharmed, New Zealand website Stuff<\/a> reported, and would undergo medical assessments this evening.<\/p>\n Phillips\u2019 child who was with him this morning and later taken into custody had helped police find the other two, police reportedly said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.09 EDT<\/p>\n Here is footage we\u2019ve just published of New Zealand<\/a> acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers saying she expects temperatures to drop to freezing tonight and so police want to locate Tom Phillips\u2019 two remaining children as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Phillips had been hiding in rugged wilderness with his three children \u2013 one of whom was taken into custody today \u2013 for nearly four years.<\/p>\n Rogers says:<\/p>\n I can confirm that we are still searching for the children of Tom Phillips. We have not located them at this stage and we remain as our primary focus to reunite those children and extract them as soon as possible from where they may be today.<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.49 EDT<\/p>\n Tom Phillips came from a farming family in New Zealand\u2019s Marokopa \u2013 a tiny coastal settlement of fewer than 100 people that became inextricably linked with his story.<\/p>\n Before Phillips disappeared with his three children in 2021, many New Zealanders would have struggled to pick it out on a map, as Eva Corlett<\/a> writes. It is a quiet, isolated settlement in Waikato, two hours\u2019 drive from the nearest city, Hamilton.<\/p>\n The remoteness of the landscape frustrated police attempts to locate Phillips, and the question of how he concealed himself and his children and survived in the harsh terrain puzzled the nation, leading to speculation he may have had assistance.<\/p>\n Corlett\u2019s feature story on how the case unfolded before today\u2019s fatal shooting continues:<\/p>\n Phillips\u2019 lengthy disappearance was preempted by an earlier \u2013 albeit shorter \u2013 stint where he went bush with his children. In September 2021, the four were reported missing and his ute was found abandoned along the Marokopa shoreline, resulting in a major search operation across land and sea.<\/p>\n Nineteen days later, Phillips and the children walked into his parents\u2019 farmhouse just outside Marokopa. Phillips claimed he had taken his children on an extended camping trip in dense bush in an effort to clear his head<\/a>. He was charged with wasting police time and resources.<\/p>\n But fewer than three months later, the four were reported missing again and when Phillips failed to show for a January court appearance, a warrant was issued for his arrest.<\/p>\n You can read the full feature here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.33 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest pictures coming in from the North Island area where Tom Phillips was killed early this morning in a shootout with police.<\/p>\n Police cars arrive at a roadblock where the exchange of fire took place near the town of Piopio in New Zealand’s Waikato region. Photograph: Dj Mills\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA cameraman stands at a roadblock near Piopio. Photograph: Dj Mills\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPolice acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers speaks at media briefing this afternoon. Photograph: Dj Mills\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA police officer investigates at the site after the shootout. Photograph: Dj Mills\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a> Luxon said what unfolded today was a \u201csad and absolutely tragic event\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not what anybody wanted to happen today and I think that is … a consistent feeling from from everybody across New Zealand<\/a>,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n We\u2019re used to seeing these stories from other parts of the world, but not here in New Zealand. And it\u2019s certainly a very sad and tragic day.<\/p>\n NZ prime minister Christopher Luxon says today\u2019s events \u2018are not how anyone would have wanted this to end\u2019. Photograph: Frank Augstein\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.47 EDT<\/p>\n PM says ‘questions to ask’ of police over Phillips case Prime minister Christopher Luxon said the police\u2019s years-long investigation into the disappearance of Tom Phillips would warrant inquiry.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there will be a series of questions to ask in due course, but today just isn\u2019t that day.<\/p>\n Today is a day where we are … thinking and praying for a fallen police colleague. We are also making sure that those children can be found as quickly and as safely as possible.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>All New Zealanders want Phillips’ two children found \u2013 PM Prime minister Christopher Luxon says the whole of New Zealand<\/a> is anxiously waiting for the children of Tom Phillips to be found.<\/p>\n Luxon told media on Monday afternoon that this morning\u2019s events \u201care not how anyone would have wanted this to end\u201d.<\/p>\n I doubt there is a New Zealander who has not followed, to some extent, the story of the abduction of the children, of whom there have been only intermittent sightings since December 2021.<\/p>\n Luxon said police were devastated by what has happened to their colleague but were focusing on finding the children.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.37 EDT<\/p>\n The December 2021 disappearance of Tom Phillips and his three children confounded investigators for years as they scoured the densely forested area where they believed the family was hiding.<\/p>\n The family was not believed to have ever have travelled far from the isolated North Island rural settlement of Marokopa where they lived, but credible sightings of them were rare, as the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n The farm supplies store Phillips targeted this morning is in a small town in the same sprawling farming region of Waikato, south of Auckland, as the settlement of about 40 people from where he and his three children vanished.<\/p>\n Police believed Phillips had help concealing his family and some residents of the isolated rural area expressed support for him. A reward of NZ$80,000 and an offer of immunity from prosecution was offered for information about the family\u2019s whereabouts last June but was never paid.<\/p>\n The North Island town of Marokopa, New Zealand. Photograph: Christel Yardley\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.27 EDT<\/p>\n Here\u2019s footage we\u2019ve just published of acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers telling reporters what happened as fugitive father Tom Phillips was shot dead during a shootout with police this morning after a reported store robbery in Piopio.<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.08 EDT<\/p>\n That concludes the press conference. Acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers said police would alert media to any major updates throughout the evening, should they occur.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.58 EDT<\/p>\n The mother of the children, Cat, is being kept informed of the situation, acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers said.<\/p>\n However, Rogers said that to her knowledge, Cat had not been reunited with the child taken into custody today.<\/p>\n
With Eva Corlett<\/a> and agencies<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1734.jpg\")
Two children still missing after police shooting of NZ fugitive Tom Phillips, police say \u2013 videoShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Eva](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Eva_Corlett.png\")
Eva Corlett<\/p>\nEva Corlett<\/p>\nEva Corlett<\/p>\n![\"NZ](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1169.jpg\")
NZ fugitive father Tom Phillips killed in police shootout, authorities say \u2014 videoShare<\/a><\/p>\nEva Corlett<\/p>\nEva Corlett<\/p>\n