By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON -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

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