Dad ran from siege with baby

A frightened neighbour grabbed his baby and ran through the middle of Napier's armed siege after hearing someone break into his house.

In a split-second decision, Darcy Quirke ran through the middle of the standoff about 12.30pm on Thursday, while he clutched his 10-month-old son Lucas.

Mr Quirke, 31, had been holed up in his home, which was next door to the house of gunman Jan Molenaar, since the gunfire began three hours earlier.

His partner, Rachael Palmer, told The Dominion Post yesterday that Mr Quirke's courageous act could have saved his life and that of his son.

"I reckon he's definitely a hero," she said. "He put himself in danger to save his little boy."

Ms Palmer was at work at the time of the siege and waited at Napier police station for news about her partner and son.

Mr Quirke had rung 111 when the gunfire broke out and had spent the morning hiding inside his house with Lucas when he heard someone on the roof.

"He said that it went quiet for a bit and then he heard something upstairs in our house and he grabbed the baby and ran out of the house and down the driveway," Ms Palmer said. "He said that he wasn't thinking. He just ran."

As he ran, he passed the vehicle beside which the body of slain police officer Len Snee lay, and was in full view of the gunman and police.

Ms Palmer said the couple still did not know who had broken into their property.