A New Zealand father who had been on the run with his three children for nearly four years was shot dead by police on Monday after robbing a farm supply store, police said.

Tom Phillips disappeared with his three children, now aged 9, 10, and 12, in late 2021 in a case that has made national headlines over his ability to evade arrest.

A police officer was shot and seriously injured in the attempt to arrest Phillips, New Zealand police acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers said at a press conference.

Police were alerted to a robbery at the store in a small rural town in the region of Waikato around 2:30 a.m. (1430 GMT Sunday) and laid spikes on the road to stop the suspects - Phillips and one of his children - were expected to take.

Phillips' motorbike hit the spikes and the first officer at the scene was "confronted by gunfire at close range," Rogers said.

"Our officer has been struck in the head. He's immediately fallen to the ground and taken cover."

She said a second police officer then arrived and Phillips was shot, and despite efforts to save him died at the scene.

Rogers added that while Phillips had not been formally identified, police believe it is him.

Police said one of his children is now with authorities, and  the other two children were later found at a campsite in dense bush.

"I can confirm that the children are well and uninjured, and they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks," Rogers said.

Phillips failed to attend a court hearing in 2022 and has been pursued by police ever since. He evaded authorities by allegedly hiding out in dense bush and remote farmland in New Zealand’s central North Island.

The three children's mother, referred to as just Cat, said in a statement to state-owned Radio New Zealand that events this morning had brought up a wave of complex emotions.

"They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," she said.

Phillips' efforts to evade police in the remote area of the Waikato region have remained in local media headlines since their disappearance as New Zealanders have struggled to understand how they have not been captured.

Before disappearing, Phillips had lived in the small farming community of Marokopa, near the west coast, home to less than 100 people. Piopio, where the robbery occurred on Monday, was roughly an hour and a half by road from Marokopa.

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