Man shot dead
A man has been charged with murder after a male was shot dead in rural Taranaki.
Police were called to an address in Mountain Rd, just outside of Eltham, about 7pm on Tuesday where a 78-year-old man was seriously injured and subsequently died at the scene.
News of the fatal shooting has sent the close-knit rural community into shock.
A 68-year-old male was arrested in connection with the incident and has been charged with murder, Detective Senior Sergeant Philip Skoglund said.
Skoglund confirmed the dead man had been shot but said his name wouldn’t be released until his next of kin had been advised.
Inquiries were continuing and forensic investigators were due to visit the scene yesterday.
Skoglund said the alleged offender and his victim were believed to have known each other.
By yesterday afternoon police were still waiting for ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research) staff to arrive so Skoglund couldn’t say if the murder weapon had been recovered.
‘‘We haven’t been able to enter the house yet.’’
The alleged offender was remanded in custody by consent and without entering a plea in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday.
He is due to appear in the High Court at New Plymouth on February 28.
No-one else was being sought in relation to the death.
A police guard remained at the scene and the driveway was cordoned off with police tape.
Tony Betley, a neighbour, said he was surprised to see police cars and an ambulance racing along the rural road.
‘‘It is usually pretty quiet around here. It’s unusual to see coppers in this area.’’
He said he did not hear any gunshots but there was a gun range nearby. ‘‘You kind of hear bullets going off all of the time.’’
Betley, who lives with his partner, said he was relatively new to the area.
He knew of the victim and the victim’s family.
Brooke McLeod, of Normanby Takeaways, said all of the locals who had come in had been talking about the shooting.
‘‘It’s pretty scary really,’’ McLeod, who moved to Normanby three months ago from Taupo¯ , said.
‘‘I haven’t been here long so I didn’t really know what it was like,’’ she said.
Paige Watty, from the Normanby Dairy, said the news had shocked locals.
‘‘It’s definitely a small town so it would go around fast,’’ she said.
Anita Grindlay, who also works at the dairy, said news of the shooting was only just starting to filter through.
‘‘Over the next couple of days it will be big news. Everybody will be talking about it.
‘‘It’s quite a shock given it is such a small place.’’
Francie Geurts from Eltham Dairy and Takeaways said she had heard about the shooting from a customer at lunchtime.
‘‘They came in and said ‘did you know there’s been a murder?’’’
She said it was scary to think that had happened in such a small community and had heard sirens but ignored them.
‘‘It’s usually an accident or someone in trouble.’’
The family of the dead man was well-known in the community, she said.
‘‘They have been around for years.’’
‘‘It’s quite a shock given it is such a small place.’’
Anita Grindlay