Darfield shooter drove at police officers twice

An armed man was making a getaway after firing ‘‘multiple’’ shots at the door of his family home, while a woman and children were inside, when he drove into a policeman.

Donald Melville Ineson, 56, then started to drive away as police fired shots at his car, before he U-turned and again drove towards the two officers on Bangor Rd, Darfield.

Ineson’s car came to a stop of its own accord.

More police arrived and found Ineson – a farmhand and former South Canterbury rugby representative – dead in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound just after 4pm on Sunday.

Investigators are still piecing together whether police fired a fatal shot.

Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price said investigators would get to the truth and were ruling nothing out.

Ineson had fired his gun at the house ‘‘multiple’’ times in a bid to get inside. Both of the officers had access to police-issue Bushmaster rifles and Glock pistols. One had armed offenders squad experience.

‘‘We do know firearms were discharged, but it’s early days and this is all part of the investigation to work out who fired what,’’ Price said.

The policeman who Ineson hit remained in Christchurch Hospital yesterday needing surgery for multiple leg fractures.

An autopsy on Ineson’s body, which was still at the shooting scene yesterday, was expected to take place in the next few days.

Price said police had not come across the 56-year-old gunman before the incident.

South Canterbury Rugby chief executive Craig Calder said Ineson’s death would be keenly felt by members of the union, which was ‘‘like a big family’’.

Ineson was a ‘‘very good’’ lock who played more than 20 games for South Canterbury in the late 1980s. He also played for the Hanan Shield districts against Argentina and Australia. Ineson played for the Mackenzie Rugby Club, where he was a ‘‘very popular, outgoing player’’.

Ineson worked at Simons Pass Station, between Twizel and Tekapo, from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Simons Pass Station manager Tony Wall said Ineson ‘‘worked from daylight to dark’’. Wall and Ineson were the only two staff at the station.

Ineson was a shepherd and helped out with fencing, feeding stock and tractor work, Wall said.

‘‘You’d never get a harder working man.’’

Wall last saw Ineson at the funeral of Ineson’s father, Francis, in July.