A suspected domestic violence stabbing and a dramatic pursuit ended with a man being shot dead by police on the NSW Mid North Coast this morning.
Just before 6.40am, officers were called to a home on Heath Avenue, Tuncurry, after reports a man armed with a chainsaw and knife had broken in.
On the way, police were told the woman had been stabbed and the man had fled in a white four-wheel drive.
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At the home, police found a 28-year-old woman with serious wounds.
She was treated and airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition, where she remains.
A short time later, police saw the four-wheel drive on Stewart Parade, Tuncurry, and commenced a pursuit.
The driver allegedly then headed to a local petrol station and carjacked a second vehicle.
"I didn't realise what was happening, I just thought it was a bit of road rage," a worker at the petrol station told 9News.
"As soon as he hit the car, I called the local police."
The driver allegedly then drove through a sportsground before crashing on the Forster Bridge, where he reportedly carjacked another vehicle, rammed a police car and injured an officer.
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The pursuit ended on Idlewood Drive in Rainbow Flat where the man allegedly drove onto a property and entered a home, still armed with a knife, and tried to steal a fourth car.
The man then left that home and confronted police.
Officers deployed a Taser multiple times as the man allegedly ran to a neighbouring property and then toward an officer, still armed with a knife.
The officer discharged his firearm, shooting the man.
Police and paramedics rendered first aid, but the man died at the scene.
The man's family told 9News he was a single father-of-three who lived with diagnosed schizophrenia.
Police believe he and the woman who was stabbed were in a relationship, and are treating the investigation as a domestic violence incident.
The man is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be 41.
A critical incident investigation is now under way.
National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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