Armed police have descended on Glenfield Mall with shoppers and staff forced to evacuate, and at least four schools sent into lockdown on Auckland’s North Shore.

Glenfield College, Glenfield Intermediate, Glenfield Primary and Wairau Valley Special School were all advised to take special precautions after a a person was sighted with a firearm after a car crash.

“Was just in the supermarket, and turned around with the fire alarm going off and there with 7 cops with guns in the supermarket, the [Glenfield] mall is covered with cops now,” a person wrote on the Glenfield Community Facebook page about 11.30am.

Police said two people were in custody after an incident at Glenfield Mall.

“Police were called at 11.20am to reports of a single vehicle crash on Downing Street, Glenfield.

“Two people have fled the vehicle, and one was sighted carrying what appeared to be a firearm.

Glenfield Mall was placed into a precautionary lockdown. It has now been lifted.“

A police spokesperson said schools and childcare centres in the nearby area were temporarily placed into lockdown. These had since lifted.

Shoppers could expected to see an increased Police presence in the area while enquiries continued.

Glenfield Mall was evacuated and four schools went into lockdown after a person was seen with a firearm following a car crash. Photo / Supplied

Those caught up in the mayhem described chaotic scenes around the mall.

“I was evacuated, armed police everywhere, all entrances closed, fire engine at the back.

“Carpark chaos took ages to get out, and people were trying to come in, being turned around,” an evacuated shopper said.

A police cordon had now been put up at the scene on an upper level of the mall.

The vehicle appeared to have been driven into a pole on the fourth floor of the car park with doors on the driver’s side and front passenger doors still open, along with the boot. The black sedan’s engine was still running.

Glenfield College wrote on Facebook it had been advised to go into lockdown as there was a situation at the Glenfield Mall.

“We will continue to provide updates on our website as often as possible. Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and student’s safety at risk.

“All further updates will be provided on the school website.”

In a message to parents Glenfield College principal Rakesh Govind warned them not to visit or contact the school or their children via phone or email, stating any further updates would be shared to the school website.

A family member of a Glenfield intermediate teacher told the Herald the school was in lockdown, and they were hiding under a table on campus.

Wairau Valley Special School said on its website that it had gone into lockdown because of an incident in the immediate vicinity.

“Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and students’ safety at risk,” the school said.

A video from the scene showed several police vehicles outside the mall as well as groups of shoppers gathered outside following the evacuation.

More to come.