New Zealand police officers shot during routine traffic stop

New Zealand police were hunting for a person who shot and seriously injured two officers on Friday during a routine traffic stop before driving away in the city of Auckland.

New Zealand police were hunting for a person who shot and seriously injured two officers on Friday during a routine traffic stop before driving away in the city of Auckland. A member of the public was hit by the vehicle as the suspect drove off, police said in a statement on Twitter.

"Cordons are in place and schools in the immediate area have been advised to lockdown," Superintendent Naila Hassan, Waitemata district commander, said in a statement. Gun crime remains relatively rare in New Zealand, where laws have been tightened twice since a gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch last year in the country's worst peace-time mass shooting.

The country's lawmakers on Thursday passed legislation to create a new firearms registry that licenses holders will be required to update as they buy or sell guns.