Three people were arrested following what police are calling a disorder incident in Whangārei, where a car was seen with a tomahawk on its smashed windscreen.

Police received multiple reports of a group of people fighting on Kahiwi St, Raumanga just before 2pm today.

The three people were taken into custody without incident, police said. One person received superficial injuries.

A number of police cars were seen around 2pm in the suburb on the outskirts of downtown Whangārei.

People posted on social media about seeing multiple police cars on Otaika Rd early on Thursday afternoon, with some linking it to the earlier incident on Kahiwi St.

One person posted a video showing three police cars with lights and sirens driving past the Otaika shops.

Another police car was also heading in the opposite direction.

A second video posted by the same person showed a Subaru on Otaika Rd with what appeared to be a tomahawk embedded in the windscreen.

The same car was seen by Advocate staff being driven to the police station on Cameron St by a police officer. A suspected gang bandanna could also be seen attached to the car.

Several workers in nearby shops and bystanders present when the Advocate arrived were unsure what had happened but had seen a number of police cars outside.

The Advocate understands a fight broke out between a group of people, some reportedly armed with machetes.

Although traffic was slowed while police were present, traffic again flowed normally on Otaika Rd.

Enquiries into the incident are ongoing, police said.