Residents defiant after attack
Shocked residents of the Christchurch neighbourhood that became the backdrop to a shootout with police are defending their suburb.
‘‘ . . . it’s nothing to do with Richmond – they just ended up here. It doesn’t reflect Richmond itself,’’ one local said.
A 33-year-old man was shot at by police in Eveleyn Couzins Ave just before 7.30pm on Tuesday after opening fire at police with a shotgun. The same man, from Woolston, is alleged to have fired shots at two police cars in two separate incidents early on Saturday morning.
There was a staunch defiance to Hayley Guglietta’s tone as she wandered among the vegetable patches of the little community garden she helps run on the north bank of the Avon River. ‘‘Things like this just put us back. We’re building a strong volunteer base and don’t want people to be afraid to come here.
‘‘We were having a Richmond Residents and Business Association meeting last night. To have a gunman and a shootout right in front of your eyes when you’re discussing positive things is actually quite shocking.’’
Her obstinance – mixed with more than a little indignance – is understandable. The day after the shooting, residents were on edge and frustrated at what happened on their doorsteps, at the media intrusion, and that it cast an unnecessary dark cloud over their bright little corner of Christchurch.
Guglietta is among an army of volunteers who have poured their hearts and souls into rebuilding the suburb after it was badly hit in the earthquakes. Three years ago locals decided to revamp the garden at Avebury House, a community hub that hosts everything from weddings to craft lessons. Greater ambition took root, and they revitalised a swathe of the red zone. Now, vegetables fill wicker planters woven from hazelnut, watched over by a ragtag scarecrow named Sir Richie McStraw.
But yesterday volunteers were left working near where armed police stood sentry as their colleagues combed a patch of grass for evidence, the battered Holden still sitting nearby.
Guglietta speaks highly of Richmond and is protective of a community that feels under threat. ‘‘Richmond is probably one of the only suburbs in Christchurch where you have very rich people and very poor people and everything in between.
‘‘It’s very diverse, very multicultural . . . I feel like it’s one big family.’’