Gunman’s history of violence

As a police sergeant attempted to wrestle the car keys from a driver during a routine traffic stop in Hamilton, the front seat passenger hopped out and, unnoticed, aimed a shotgun directly at the officer’s head.

The officer looked up, and realised he had been lined up at point-blank range.

‘‘You are f .... d, motherf .... r,’’ shouted the gunman. Then he fired.

The man who pulled the trigger, Shannon Joseph Henry, 23, has pleaded guilty in the High Court at Hamilton to charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawfully taking a vehicle – namely a Holden Commodore, the property of the New Zealand Police.

He will be sentenced on those charges on December 9.

The dramatic circumstances of the incident are revealed in the Crown summary of facts for the case against Henry.

It was just before midnight on Friday, July 9 when the lone sergeant on patrol spotted the Nissan Tiida in Tongariro St, heading onto Bankwood Rd in the suburb of Chartwell.

A quick inquiry revealed five ‘‘sought alerts’’ for the vehicle so the sergeant pulled the Tiida over, hopped out of the patrol car and approached the driver.

He asked the male driver for his name and address, which were provided.

The sergeant knew the man and the particulars he had been provided were false ones.

A passenger gave the name Henry and the officer knew a warrant was out for his arrest.

The sergeant quickly radioed for assistance and then returned to the driver’s side of the Tiida, where he reached in and attempted to grab the keys from the ignition.

But, as the driver grabbed the sergeant’s arm, Henry got out and lifted the shotgun over the roof of the car.

Faced with the shotgun pointed at him from about two metres away, the officer crouched, turned and began to run.

Henry fired, the shot hitting his target in the shoulder and arm.

The wounded police officer managed to run to Wake St, where he sheltered behind a bush and was able to call for backup. He was taken to Waikato Hospital and later had surgery.

Henry was tracked down and arrested by the Armed Offenders Squad the following morning.

He was hiding under a duvet in the lounge of a home in Thomas St in Ngaruawahia, the loaded shotgun still in his hands.

But it was not the first time Henry had been involved in a violent altercation with the police.

On May 26, 2016 he dragged a police officer about 15 metres down the road as he sped away from a police checkpoint in Hamilton.

Officers had worked out Henry had given false details, so he decided to take off.

But, as the police summary of facts for that incident reveals, moments before he hit the accelerator one of the officers had thrust his hand through the car window in a bid to remove the keys from the ignition.

The officer was forced to run alongside the car before falling onto the ground. Luckily, he suffered only bruising.

A chase then ensued, with police tailing Henry, as he sped through the city’s suburbs.

Eventually, the pursuit had to be abandoned over safety fears.

When police caught up with Henry, he said he’d done it because he didn’t want his car impounded.

That chase was followed by another that took place in the early hours of March 1, 2017, when Henry drove a car he had just stolen on to the forecourt of a Hamilton Mobil service station and reversed it through the glass doors.