Man who absconded along with his three youngsters amid custody dispute was shot useless after firing on police, authorities say.
Printed On 8 Sep 2025
A New Zealand father who absconded along with his three youngsters after a dispute along with his ex-partner practically 4 years in the past has been killed by police, authorities have mentioned.
Tom Phillips, who had been on the run within the New Zealand wilderness along with his youngsters since December 2021, was shot useless after he was confronted by police following a housebreaking within the rural city of Piopio, police mentioned on Monday.
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Phillips, who had been concerned in a dispute over custody of the youngsters, was killed after he fired “a number of pictures” on the first responding officer on the scene, inflicting him critical accidents, police mentioned.
Appearing Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers mentioned Philips, who had but to be formally recognized, was accompanied by one in every of his youngsters, who was not injured within the incident.
Rogers mentioned authorities have been urgently searching for to find his two different youngsters.
“Following the incident, we have now been involved with Phillips’s household and we shall be working to offer them with all accessible assist,” Rogers mentioned.
In a press release to Radio New Zealand, the youngsters’s mom, Cat, mentioned she was “deeply relieved” for her youngsters.
“They’ve been dearly missed day-after-day for practically 4 years, and we’re trying ahead to welcoming them residence with love and care,” she mentioned.
Philips’s disappearance from the distant group of Marokop along with his three youngsters – now aged 12, 10 and 9 – gripped New Zealand and generated international headlines.
Regardless of quite a few sightings through the years and appeals by his household, Philips, who was going through prison costs together with aggravated theft and illegal possession of a firearm, managed to repeatedly frustrate efforts by authorities to pinpoint his whereabouts.
Authorities had introduced the latest sighting of Philips lower than two weeks in the past, releasing safety digicam footage showing to indicate him and one in every of his youngsters breaking right into a rural retailer.
