UPDATED 12.53am: A man holed up in a house in Porirua since shooting dead a police dog yesterday has been found dead at the scene, police say.

In a post on Twitter, police this morning said: “Police can confirm man they've been negotiating with in Porirua has been found dead at scene.”

Breaking news: Police can confirm man they've been negotiating with in Porirua has been found dead at scene. More soon. #OperationKokiri

— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) April 22, 2016

Since news of the death came through the cordons have mostly been lifted apart from in front of what's believed to be the house the gunman holed up in on Kokiri Cres.

Just before 1pm, police were seen carrying a pistol out of the house.

At the scene, Porirua mayor Nick Leggett said the community had pulled together well, including the Horouta Marae, which fed 85 people for dinner last night.

He said the past 24 hours were stressful as he feared for residents' safety.

Overnight, police had deployed a variety of tactical options, including throwing gas canisters into a house on Kokiri Crescent, as their armed stand-off with a gunman continued.

There were several reports of loud bangs and gunshots, however no shots were fired at the Porirua address, police said.

John Giannoutsos, who lives on the corner of Warspite Ave and Kokiri Cres, was waiting near the cordon on Warspite Ave about 11.30pm when he heard bangs.

"It sounded like shots from where I was standing. I was trying to work out what these bangs were, was it coming from him or was it coming from them?"

Police said the noises were from the gas canisters being thrown into the house.

Police remain focused on negotiating with the person holed up in the house, where yesterday a police dog was killed and an officer badly hurt, jumping out of a second-story window to escape.

The officer is in stable condition in hospital and is receiving medical treatment. 

READ: The story unfolding yesterday

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It is believed the man at the centre of the stand-off, Pita Rangi Te Kira, cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet in Hawke's Bay earlier this month.

He was described by one teenager who lived on Kokiri Cres as a "good guy".

"I knew him only briefly," Odysseus Tipiwai said.

"He gave me a couple of smokes. He was all good. I didn't expect to hear that he did that. When I saw him with his kids he was a happy guy."

Odysseus, 15, believed Mr Te Kira had lived on the street since the start of the year. He saw him with his two kids.

Earlier, Police Minister Judith Collins has pleaded with the man to give himself up.

She said situations like this are the reason she's asked Corrections to find a new bracelet which is harder to get off.

"I've seen what they're doing and I it would be really hard to take it off without taking your leg of too, frankly."

Collins said she was hoping the stand-off can be peacefully resolved.

"But I would suggest to anyone who's on the run from police that it is best to give up because you will be found."

The Minister said it's a delicate situation and people should co-operate with police at the scene.

"If they're asking you to stay away from the area, please do so...Understand that police are doing their very best and there are going to be times when people will be inconvenienced while they deal with dangerous and difficult situations."

A local marae opened its doors to people in Porirua who were shut out of their homes.

About 35 families spent the night at Horouta Marae

One woman, who asked only to be named as Lucretia, has been waiting at the cordon since 6am, seeing if she can get back to her Kokiri Cres home.

She was there yesterday morning before being evacuated, having to climb over neighbours' fences.

Lucretia spent last night in the local marae and has only the clothes she is standing in.

"We were actually at home when this all happened. I saw all the police, the armed offenders. Next minute the ambulance came down and the Westpac helicopter parked right outside house."