Killer dealt online in guns trade

"We take the requirement to sight licences extremely seriously.'' Trade Me website

The man who shot dead a mother and daughter in rural Northland had been trading military-grade gun parts and accessories online.

Quinn Patterson shot property managers Wendy Campbell and her daughter Natanya at his rental home on Wednesday as they arrived for a property inspection, before the house went up in flames. A contractor, Jeff Pipe, was also shot but escaped and was in a stable condition in hospital on Friday.

Police located what they believed to be the gun Patterson used beside his charred remains in the burnt-out house.

Trade Me’s head of trust and safety, Jon Duffy, confirmed Patterson had purchased firearms accessories using his Trade Me account.

Duffy said Trade Me closed Patterson’s account when he was named as the Northland shooter.

‘‘We are aware of firearms being purchased via the Trade Me account we closed but we can’t get into the details while police investigate this incident,’’ he said.

‘‘We have had informal discussions with police about this incident and we expect to receive a formal request from them next week.’’

Patterson was linked to a Trade Me account offering police tactical and military style weapon accessories, it was reported.

Police confirmed Patterson did not have a gun licence but had owned ‘‘a number’’ of firearms.

‘‘How he came to acquire these firearms is clearly a concern, and an important focus of the investigation,’’ police said on Friday.

Last month, an officer visited Patterson’s property and was told that target shooting was being done there.

‘‘After discussion with Patterson, and with no other relevant information the officer was aware of about Patterson, or activity at the property north of Whangarei, he was satisfied it was a tenancy matter that required no further action by police,’’ Superintendent Russell Le Prou said.

Under the Arms Act 1983, users do not need a firearms licence to buy firearms accessories on Trade Me. However, there are restrictions on some accessories sold on the site, and Trade Me only allows the sale of category A, ‘‘sporting configuration’’ firearms or parts. There were more than 3700 listings related to firearms for hunting and shooting on the site on Sunday, including 129 shotguns and more than 900 individual accessories.

All free-standing pistol grips, large capacity magazines or other stocks which when fitted to a semiautomatic rifle would result in the firearm being classified as a military-style semi-automatic are prohibited.

According to Trade Me’s firearms regulations, if you want to bid, buy or ask a question on a firearms listing, you need to supply your firearms licence number, Duffy said.

If you are selling firearms you are legally required to sight the buyer’s firearms licence at the point of purchase.

If the firearm is being sent to the buyer, the seller must sight a form signed by a police officer stating that the buyer has presented their firearms licence at a police station, and is a ‘‘fit and proper’’ person to purchase a firearm.

Reloaded ammunition and firearms outside of New Zealand are also banned from the site.

‘‘We take the requirement to sight licences extremely seriously and will take action against any members who attempt to circumvent these requirements,’’ Trade Me’s website states.

Experts and the Police Association are calling for tougher gun laws to prevent more people being killed in the wake of the triple shooting.

Waikato University professor Alexander Gillespie recommended a gun amnesty with a cash incentive for people to surrender their firearms.

‘‘Had [Patterson] decided to have his bad day in the middle of Whangarei as opposed to [his property] you could be looking at a death toll of dozens,’’ he said.

Police declined to answer questions on Sunday morning about Patterson’s Trade Me activity and involvement with firearms.