Gangs treat Auckland like ‘wild west’– Goff
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff fears worsening gang warfare is putting innocent people at risk and warns the city cannot go down the track of “gangland America”.
His comments follow a dramatic shooting at a 5-star waterfront hotel on Thursday, which police say was linked to an escalating dispute between the Head Hunters and Mongols gangs.
A gun was fired soon after 9am at the Sofitel hotel at the Viaduct, sparking a citywide response with armed police and Eagle helicopter.
Detective Inspector John Sutton said the incident – described by witnesses as “a moment of terror” – was linked to a shooting at the Head Hunters gang pad in Mt Wellington last weekend.
Goff said it was “intolerable that gangs are carrying out their feuds in public using firearms and risking public safety”.
“It really is important that New Zealand not go down the track of gangland America and zero tolerance is now shown to gangs employing firearms against each other or anybody else.”
While police were yet to make arrests, Goff said they were pouring massive resources into the investigation and officers believed they knew the culprits’ identities.
Goff hoped those responsible were bought swiftly to justice and that subsequent convictions and sentences reflected the seriousness of the crimes.
He said the escalating violence was a stain on the city’s reputation and undermined people’s basic right to feel safe in their city.
“What we don’t expect in downtown Auckland is to have squads of armed police sorting out gangs who are at war with each other over who owns the patch.”
He acknowledged the arrival of so called “501” deportees from Australia was fuelling the turf war as gangs like the Mongols and Comancheros gained in numbers and strength.
“They’re treating this like the wild west.”
Goff also acknowledged the arrests of three men yesterday in connection with the fatal shooting of Favona grandmother Meliame Fisi’ihoi, who was gunned down in an apparent case of mistaken identity in January last year.
While the arrests were “a long time coming”, Goff hoped they would bring some conciliation to Fisi’ihoi’s family.
Goff also called on members of the public who had knowledge of illegal firearms or criminal activities to share that information with police, who could not tackle the problem on their own.
An escalating dispute between the Head Hunters and the Mongols was behind the shooting at a 5-star waterfront hotel on Thursday, police say.
A gun was fired soon after 9am Detective Inspector John Sutton said the incident was linked to a shooting at the Head Hunters gang pad in Mt Wellington last weekend.