Reports of struggle after shooting
Garry Duggan allegedly fought and disarmed his policeman friend after he and a woman were shot.
Several sources have confirmed there was a struggle after Constable Ben McLean allegedly murdered his wife, Verity Ann McLean (nee Barber), 40, and fired at Duggan in Invercargill on Tuesday night.
Duggan — a truck driver in his late 40s and described as ‘‘a great guy’’ — wrested the rifle from McLean, Fairfax understands.
McLean allegedly suffered face and head wounds before fleeing.
Duggan phoned police at 8.19pm. When they arrived, they found Verity McLean dead.
About 40 minutes later, police alleged Ben McLean went to the Invercargill police station and ‘‘handed himself in’’. A firearm was recovered at the shooting scene.
Verity McLean, whose nickname is ‘‘Bert’’, was living with Duggan at the industrial site on Otepuni Ave, in the suburb of Newfield, at the time.
She and Ben McLean recently split, according to a family friend. They have three children. The friend said Ben and Verity McLean ‘‘seemed like any other couple’’.
‘‘They had the lifestyle dream, seemed happy. Everything seemed good on the surface,’’ he said.
Ben McLean and Garry Duggan were ‘‘always good friends’’.
Ben McLean ‘‘just seemed like a nice guy’’, while Verity McLean was a ‘‘happy lady’’ who was ‘‘always out to help people’’.
‘‘She was a pivotal force in helping save the Tisbury School.’’
‘‘They were going to close it, she was on the board. We did a massive fundraiser at the school, both Ben and Bert were there helping the whole time.’’
Duggan’s wife, Rachel, said the only people who ‘‘know what was going on’’ were the three involved.
‘‘No-one else was there apart from Ben, Bert and Garry, it’s their story to tell, not anyone else’s.’’
Ben McLean and Duggan were both in stable conditions hospital.
At a bedside court hearing in Southland Hospital on Wednesday, Ben McLean was charged with Verity McLean’s murder and the attempted murder of Duggan.
He was remanded in custody to May 18.
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt felt police were treating the matter in a professional way, in despite the accused man being ‘‘one of their own’’.
Ben McLean was a policeman in Southland for nearly 10 years and worked on road safety campaigns.
He used to be a firefighter for the Tiwai Brigade and had worked for the Southland District Council as a GIS analyst until 2007.
Southern District Commander, Superintendent Paul Basham said a team of detectives and specialist forensic staff were trying to piece together the events of Tuesday night.
Police were searching three ‘‘scenes of interest’’: The Otepuni Ave property where the shootings took place; a park near Inglewood Rd and Tweed St; and Ben McLean’s home.