A man fatally shot by police was holding a knife to the throat of a woman inside a suburban Wellington home, police have revealed.

And a child inside the Newlands home managed to escape the stand-off before the fatal shooting.

Officers had been "gravely concerned" for the woman and the young person inside the Kingsbridge Pl home, Acting Wellington District Commander Inspector Tracey Thompson said today.

Thompson said police could see inside the home - the man, who had barricaded himself inside, was holding a knife to the woman's throat. Thompson said he was threatening her and the child, whose age has not been released.

The man's name has also yet to be released but Thompson confirmed he had gang connections. She would not elaborate, although agitated members of the King Cobra gang were seen at the police cordons after the shooting on Tuesday afternoon.

The child had managed to escape unharmed before police opened fire, Thompson said. The woman suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was treated by ambulance staff at the scene, she said.

A number of investigations were under way. "In this case, officers were gravely concerned for the safety of others," said Thompson.

She said associates of the man attended the scene but tensions were able to be resolved last night.

Thompson said police were still "firming" up the link between the man, the woman and the child but reiterated police were responding to a family-harm incident.

She said multiple shots were fired.

• Man killed by police during tense stand-off named

Thompson couldn't confirm if the woman also had links to a gang.

A knife has been recovered from the scene and police are still carrying out a scene examination.

When asked about procedures for hostage situations, Thompson said it was all about containing the situation, appealing to the hostage-taker, and safety.

'Boom boom boom boom boom boom'

Residents have described their shock at a fatal police shooting unfolding in their suburban Wellington neighbourhood.

Police were called to Kingsbridge Pl in Newlands on Tuesday as a man was attempting to barricade himself inside a house with a female victim.

Police say the man was threatening officers and in return they fired several shots at him, causing critical injuries. A social media video has reportedly since emerged showing police entering the property. A woman on the video says, "oh my god, they're chasing him with guns."

Several shots are then heard ringing out across the suburb as dogs bark in the background.

Police said the man was immediately given medical attention but died shortly after he was shot.

Police attend shooting incident at Kingsbridge Place in Newlands, Wellington. Photo/ Dave Lintott

His female victim received non-life-threatening injuries, and a young person at the property was physically unharmed.

Resident Ruth Mead told Newshub she had seen scenes like this on the news but didn't expect to see them on her own street.

"Six shots real quick, like 'boom boom boom boom boom boom', and like I said to my neighbour 'I've been here for 20 years, never seen this many cops'.

"It was terrible," she said. "It's pretty scary."

Another nearby resident, Amy Merrin, told the Herald she heard at least five gunshots, one after the other, about 3.50pm.

"Very clear and loud," she said.

Merrin, who has three young children, said the situation had made her feel uneasy and she had locked her doors.

Jaume Benson-Guiu, who lives two streets away from where the incident happened, said the sound of the gunshots was "shocking and so loud".

Police at the cordon. Photo / Dave Lintott

"First, it didn't really click... At first, I thought it could be gunshots, but I almost didn't accept that in mind. Then (I thought) it must be with all the police cars coming through."

He said he heard police sirens and saw many police cars driving past before hearing the shots.

"I never thought this was something that would happen in Newlands. This is really worrying and makes it real to me how much crime there is at the moment."

Police have reassured residents that there is no further risk.

"We understand this will be a shock to the Newlands community and we want to reassure them that there is no ongoing risk," Inspector Tracey Thompson, Acting Wellington District Commander, said yesterday.

"There will be an increased police presence in the area in the coming days as we conduct a scene examination and make inquiries."

Later on Tuesday, several patched King Cobras gang members approached police aggressively at the cordon blocking access to the address where the fatal shooting occurred.