Two significant incidents within a kilometre of each other in West Auckland late this afternoon

Witnesses describe seeing a man being taken away by police from a west Auckland mall.

Social media images appear to show several armed officers were guarding the entrances and exits of New Lynnmall on Great North Road.

Police say no gunshots have been fired and they've been looking for a person of interest in an earlier incident.

About the same time and less than a kilometre from Lynnmall, patrons of the Workshop bar were shut into the bar after a man tried to smash through the doors.

A group of people confronted the man and tried to calm him down, and police arrived about 10 minutes later and took him away.