Northland gunman had violent past
Police have formally named the man who fatally shot a mother and daughter as Quinn Patterson after removing his burnt body from a home in Whangarei.
Police said last night that human remains had been found in the house in Mt Tiger Rd where Wendy Campbell and her daughter, Natanya, were killed.
The pair were at the house, rented by Patterson, to perform a property inspection. A contractor, Jeff Pipe, was also shot but managed to escape. The house went up in flames shortly afterwards.
Police said the body recovered from the home was ‘‘badly burnt’’ and formal identification would take some time. However, they believed the remains to be those of Patterson, ‘‘based on the circumstances’’.
Police and the armed offenders squad were called to the property on Wednesday following reports of a shooting.
They formed a human shield around the Campbells, despite knowing Patterson was armed and in the vicinity. Armed officers protected medically trained police staff as they tried to rescue the pair, but their efforts were in vain as they were already dead.
Pipe was shot in the back and shoulder and remained in a stable condition in Whangarei Hospital last night.
Patterson had a violent past and stabbed Hamilton police dog handler Bruce Howatt in 1983. He was originally charged with attempted murder and was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime.
That conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal and Patterson was sentenced instead to 18 months for causing grievous bodily harm.
Patterson’s friend Leah Cameron told 1 News Patterson had taken medication for depression in the past and was not a monster.
‘‘Nothing really seemed to help that much.
‘‘He would have these episodes, these little depressive episodes,’’ Cameron said.
She shared the final text message she had received from Patterson with 1 News: ‘‘This life is just a continuous struggle without end or point and I’m done with it,’’ it read in part. ‘‘Each day I wake up and I realise to my dismay that I’m still here.’’
Patterson was described by locals as a loner who fired guns on a daily basis.
They said Patterson’s constant shooting made them uncomfortable, and several considered calling the police to warn them about his strange behaviour.
Patterson had lived alone for several years at the property, about 10 kilometres east of Whangarei.
Brad Walters said he and other neighbours were concerned by the amount of shooting heard coming from the property.
‘‘He was just a bit of an old cowboy,’’ Walters said. ‘‘When [the house] went on fire it was just going off like fireworks, he must have had so much ammo.’’
It’s understood Patterson had become embroiled in several conflicts with neighbours, and did not have a good relationship with the owners of the property he was renting.
Andrew Randall lives in a caravan on a small block of land right next to Patterson’s home. He said he had met Patterson about four times, but he ‘‘liked his privacy‘‘.
‘‘He seemed to take offence easily, and he wasn’t the most empathetic person.’’
Smoke was still rising from the smouldering ruins of the Mt Tiger Rd home yesterday, and guards at the scene said the property would likely remain cordoned off for several days while investigators combed the wreckage.
Friends and family gathered at Wendy Campbell‘s home in Onerahi yesterday to support her husband, Tony Rodgers, who they said was ‘‘very distraught at this time’’.
"Each day I wake up and I realise to my dismay that I'm still here." Text message from Quinn Patterson to a friend