Napier shootings

The Napier shootings (also called the Napier siege by the New Zealand media) took place on 7 May 2009 in Napier, New Zealand. At around 9.30 am, Jan Molenaar fired on police officers executing a cannabis search warrant at his house at 41 Chaucer Road,[1] killing Senior Constable Len Snee and seriously injuring senior constables Bruce Miller and Grant Diver.[2] A neighbour attempting to assist the police was also shot.[1]

Napier shootings
A NZLAV used in the siege
LocationNapier, New Zealand
Date7–9 May 2009
9.30 a.m. – 12.00 p.m. (UTC+12)
Attack type
Shooting, murder, homicide
Weapons
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
Injured3
PerpetratorJan Molenaar
DefendersArmed Offenders Squad, Special Tactics Group

Over 100 police officers, including Armed Offenders Squad and Special Tactics Group members, were brought in to contain the gunman, who was identified as a former territorial soldier.[1] A siege lasting over 40 hours developed, during which officers made repeated attempts under fire to retrieve the body of the slain officer. With the assistance of two Army NZLAVs, they were successful at about 5 p.m. on 8 May.[2]

At around midday on 9 May, police found the gunman dead inside the master bedroom of the house.[3]

Jan Molenaar

Jan Molenaar, 51, was of Ngāti Kahungunu descent[4] and grew up in Napier, where he went to Nelson Park Primary School, Napier Intermediate School and William Colenso College.[5] In the 1980s, he spent six years in the territorial armoured corps of the Hawke's Bay and Wellington Regiment. Molenaar is said to have been a loner, and to have missed his brother, who had killed himself after experimenting with methamphetamine.[5]

Timeline

Senior constables Snee, Miller, and Diver went to Molenaar's home in Napier during a cannabis investigation. Molenaar fired shots at the policemen, killing Snee and wounding Miller and Diver. As Miller and Diver staggered away, neighbour Leonard Holmwood tried to wrestle the firearm from Molenaar before being shot in the leg and buttocks.[6][7] Diver sheltered behind a neighbouring house where he was able to phone for back up. The Armed Offenders Squad responded quickly; with the aid of two members of the public they pulled Miller and Holmwood to safety.[8] Prime Minister John Key later commended these officers for their bravery.[9] Sacred Heart school, Nelson Park School, Napier Central School, Napier Intermediate and Napier Girls' High School were all on lockdown for Thursday, and Nelson Park School, Napier Central School and Napier Intermediate were shut on Friday.

7 May
  • 9.30 am: Senior constables Len Snee, Bruce Miller and Grant Diver arrive at the home of Jan Molenaar, to serve a cannabis search warrant. Snee is shot dead, and the two other officers and neighbour Leonard Holmwood are shot and wounded.
  • 9.40 am: Police cordon off the surrounding area and evacuate local residents.
  • 10.00 am: Miller and Diver are taken to hospital. Police fail to recover Snee's body after being shot at by the gunman.
  • 11.03 am: Police announced that "three police officers have been involved in a shooting incident in Napier this morning. Two police officers have been injured and are in hospital. A third officer is unaccounted for at this stage."[10]
  • 12.25 pm: More shots are fired, police talk to Molenaar through a loud hailer after which more shots are fired.
  • 7.15 pm: A police website media release announced "Police have been unable at this point to extricate Senior Constable Snee."[11]
  • 8.05 pm: The Special Tactics Group arrives aboard a Unimog.[12]

8 May
  • 4.35 pm: Two of the army's light armoured vehicles, followed by a police car with officers and a police dog inside, enter the cordoned area.[13]
  • 5.00 pm: The body of Leonard Snee is retrieved by Police.[14]

9 May
  • 3:30 am: A volley of shots and a large explosion are heard. Police did not confirm where the shots came from. It was speculated that police detonated an explosive device against the house's garage door.
  • 12:00 pm: Police discover the body of shooter Jan Molenaar in the first floor master bedroom.[3]

Len Snee

Leonard "Len" Snee (11 March 1956 – 7 May 2009) was the 29th member of the New Zealand Police killed in the line of duty. A long-serving officer who was well known to the local community,[15] Snee was a member of the Armed Offenders Squad and worked on drugs cases. In 1996, he was involved in the manhunt for Constable Glenn McKibbin's murderer, Terence Thompson, in Flaxmere. As with Molenaar, he was of Ngāti Kahungunu descent.[4]

Aftermath

Molenaar had admirers in Napier, partly because of his anti-gang stance.[16] His tangi at Ruahapia marae and funeral were well attended.[17] Snee's tangi was at Takapau marae[18] and his funeral in Napier's Municipal Theatre.[19]

Molenaar's partner Delwyn Ismalia Keefe, a convicted drug dealer,[20] received $10,000 of Accident Compensation Corporation compensation for Molenaar's suicide.[21] A restraining order was issued against Keefe over the house the two lived in, and more than $90,000 in cash and bank accounts, so the assets could be forfeited to the Crown on her sentencing on the drug charges.[22] In May 2011 the court ordered the forfeiture of the house and nearly $20,000.[23]

The New Zealand Herald named Holmwood as its 2009 New Zealander of the Year for his heroism in saving Miller and Diver.[24]

In the 2011 New Zealand bravery awards, Holmwood, two other civilians, 10 police officers and a paramedic received bravery medals for their actions during the shootings.[25]

References
  1. "Napier gunman's house was 'a stronghold'". Stuff.co.nz. 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  2. "Policeman's body recovered, siege status 'unchanged'". New Zealand Herald. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  3. "'Incredibly risky' operation at end of siege". Television New Zealand. 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  4. "Hundreds farewell gunman Jan Molenaar". Stuff.co.nz. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  5. "Napier Gunman Had 'Serious Issues'". Stuff.co.nz. 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  6. Eriksen, Alanah (9 May 2009). "Hero 'took bullet' to protect policemen". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  7. "Police name officer shot dead". The New Zealand Herald. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  8. Marty Sharpe, Clio Francis and Ruth Hill (11 May 2009). "The heroes of Hospital Hill". The Dominion Post. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  9. "Key praises police over Napier siege". NZPA. 11 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  10. "Shooting in Napier". Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  11. "Accommodation offers for stranded Napier residents". Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  12. "Graphic: The Napier siege". The New Zealand Herald. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  13. "Napier siege: Latest updates". The New Zealand Herald. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  14. "Police officer's body recovered". Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  15. "Shot policeman was Senior Constable Len Snee". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  16. "Behind the Napier siege". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  17. "Hundreds farewell gunman Jan Molenaar". The Press. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  18. "Slain officer's body taken to family marae". Television New Zealand. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  19. "Big turnout expected for policeman's funeral". Television New Zealand. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  20. "Court hears arguments over Molenaar's estate". 3 News. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  21. Savage, Jared (21 November 2009). "Siege killer's partner gets ACC payout". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  22. "Order blocks sale of Molenaar assets". Radio New Zealand. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  23. "Napier gunman's house to be seized by Crown". Radio New Zealand. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  24. Gower, Patrick (5 December 2009). "2009 New Zealander of the Year: Lenny Holmwood". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  25. "2011 Special Honours list in full". ONE News. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.

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