Six or seven gunshots rang out near a Waikato school in what police are describing as a serious incident on Tuesday morning.

A Taupiri resident, who doesn't want to be named, says she heard about six or seven shots at 9.30am.

'I knew instantly they were gunshots as it was bang, bang, bang ... it wasn't like a backfire or fireworks it was definitely gunshots.”

She says police took a little while to arrive, but when they did they had guns.

"I saw a person going into the dairy and a police officer started running towards them with a gun telling them to get back in their car and to leave. So I went straight back inside."

The incident took place in Taupiri, between Ngāruawāhia and Huntly – and police will speak to media about it in the early afternoon.

Waikato district mayor Allan Sanson says he got a heads-up about the incident from police around 12.30pm.

His understanding is that whilst a man was dropping off his child near Taupiri School, another man started firing a number of shots at the car.

"The guy in the car after be fired at duly sped off and went straight the Ngaruawahia Police station and reported the incident and sought medical attention.

'Apparently he wasn't directly hit by the shots, but he had abrasions that they imagine came from the shattering of the glass."

He says the man is still on the run and it's not gang-related "in any way or form".

"Anybody taking actions into their own hands by discharging a firearm outside a school is just not acceptable.

"We've got the OK corral happening up in Auckland at the moment and the last thing we need to do is have that sort of behaviour down in the Waikato as well.

"I'm pretty fearful for the public. Especially just after the man had dropped off his child. I can't think of anything worse."

Waikato west area commander, Inspector Will Loughrin said it was an isolated incident. Photo: Tom Lee/Stuff.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Waikato west area commander Inspector Will Loughrin says a firearm was discharged at a person in a vehicle on Greenlane Rd.

There were multiple shots but he would not confirm how many.

One person received moderate injuries and is in Waikato Hospital in a stable condition.

Loughrin would not provide details of the injuries, and says it was unknown if the victim was on the street or in the vehicle.

Police believe the people are known to each other and that it was an isolated incident and not related to ongoing gang tensions.

The man fired the shots from the street and in view of members of the public, he says.

Police are appealing to the public for information from people who may have witnessed the incident or have information about what happened.

At the scene

One police car, with an armed officer, was still blocking the intersection at the scene early afternoon, while marked and unmarked police vehicles were parked further up the street in the cordon.

Uniformed officers were wandering back and forth across the street and looking at properties

A man who lives on Te Putu St had been trying to get through the cordon to get some farming equipment.

He has lived in Taupiri for 4 years and says it was normally pretty quiet.

Gang members lived nearby, but there has not been conflict before.

The man says the police had blocked off the road on Monday for a few hours too, but couldn't remember when.

Ramari Skipper rushed to the cordon, worried about her 5-year-old and 10-year-old children.

She says another mother told her there had been a shooting at the school, so she rushed in from Huntly.

However, she was not able to get through and officers would not give her any information.

'I just hope everyone is OK”

Her family moved here just before Christmas, and she says it was normally quiet.

Anyone with information that could assist police with enquiries is asked to contact police on 105 and quote P050906999.

Alternately information can be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

-Stuff/Jo Lines-MacKenzie and Rachel Moore.