WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – A driver ran down two New Zealand police officers down as they patrolled on foot in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing one and seriously injuring the other, the country’s police chief said.

The attack jolted a country where the killing of police officers on duty is rare.

The vehicle drove into the officers “at speed” as they performed a routine patrol of a parking lot, before the driver turned and rammed a police car, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson. A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged over the incident shortly after it happened at about 2 a.m. local time.