Bravery awards for men shot by Burton

CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

CAUGHT IN RAMPAGE: Jeremy Simpson, left, and Karl Holmes with their bravery citations from police.

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Jeremy Simpson remembers checking he was not leaving a blood trail as he scrambled to escape gunman Graeme Burton in the Wainuiomata hills.

Mr Simpson, 37, and his friend Karl Holmes, 36, were out mountain biking on January 6, 2007, when they were both shot by Burton, who was on the run from police.

As they fled, they passed Wainuiomata father-of-two Karl Kuchenbecker, who had been shot and killed by Burton.

While hiding from the killer, they contacted police to provide details. Burton was later shot and captured. Both men received commendations for bravery at a police ceremony yesterday.

Mr Simpson, a property valuer, was shot through the left elbow. Being in that situation was like stumbling into a war zone, he said.

"It was bloody scary. It was like, 'Is this going to be the day that I die?' And I just told myself, 'No – it's not going to be."'

Keeping calm was not a conscious decision, it was instinct, he said.

He remembered being amazed later that he thought to check he was not leaving a blood trail for Burton to follow. "We both thought we were safe, but then we saw him coming and we had to run down the hill."

Mr Holmes, a mechanic, agreed instinct had taken over.

He was shot in the left arm and hand, and said they had not realised anything was amiss when they first saw Burton with the gun, because people often hunted in the area.

"It wasn't until he pointed the shotgun at Jeremy that we realised."

The commendation for Mr Holmes, signed by Lower Hutt area commander Inspector Richard Chambers, said information the pair provided about Burton saved lives.

"Without these actions it is believed Burton would have continued to shoot and kill more people in the area."

- © Fairfax NZ News