Shooting incident troubles exgang member

WHANGAREI: It is sad that crime has escalated to the point that people are turning guns on police, a former gang member who now runs a Northland community trust says.

Northland police arrested a 24yearold man in Whangarei yesterday afternoon after a firearms incident earlier in the day. He will appear in court today on several charges, including firearm offences.

Two people were in the vehicle which pulled into the police checkpoint in Te Hononga St, Otangarei, at 2.13am, but they sped off before police could speak to the driver, police said.

Police said the acting sergeant followed the vehicle in a patrol car and initiated a pursuit when it failed to stop; shortly afterwards, the male driver fired a shot into the air.

The vehicle then stopped and the driver fired several shots at the officer, but none of them hit the patrol car and the officer was not injured, police said.

It comes after a female police officer was shot at last month, just south of Kerikeri. She escaped unharmed.

A neighbour who lives close to where police were shot at told RNZ he heard a gun going off — ‘‘bang, bang, bang’’.

Another said the incident was terrible and she did not feel safe.

Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill had said earlier yesterday officers would carry firearms for the next few days; as an arrest had been made, that would no longer continue.

‘‘We take these matters very seriously, just as if it was a member of the community shot at, and the outcry from the community is really positive . . .. They are equally disgusted as we are.’’

Former gang member Martin Kaipo — who is chief executive and cofounder of community organisation the Otangarei Trust — said the area was troubled by drugs and gangs.

‘‘We are low socioeconomic communities. There’s a high dependency on unemployment benefits. There’s a high level of young Maori searching for leadership.’’

Mr Kaipo did not know anything about this specific incident, but said it fit in with the normal gang behaviour.

Things had become more vicious than when he was in a gang two decades ago, he said.

‘‘When it does happen, it is usually confrontation over zoning or like your areas like your communities and stuff like that.’’

Gangs would protect their areas ‘‘at any cost’’.

‘‘The sad thing is that crime is now escalated that is turning against the police. That’s sad, but if they’re willing to turn to the police, they’re willing to turn on anyone.’’

He said everyone needed to work together to prevent incidents like this: families talking to young people, better law and enforcement and communities cooperating. — RNZ