Fears held as Auckland gang violence escalates
AUCKLAND: A senior Killer Beez gang member who threatened a rival at a rugby league practice with a gun is believed to have sparked the ongoing spate of shootings in Auckland.
The latest in a series of titfortat attacks between the Tribesmen and Killer Beez has resulted in the homes of innocent residents peppered with bullets as parts of Auckland are enveloped in a climate of fear.
There have been at least 12 incidents linked to the conflict in Counties Manukau alone since Sunday.
Seven of those took place on Tuesday night and yesterday morning.
Police say it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Counties Manukau district commander Superintendent Jill Rogers said yesterday the source of the dramatic escalation in tensions between the two gangs was part of their investigation.
However, a little over two hours after her briefing, a man appeared in the Auckland District Court. His actions are believed to be the cause of the week’s driveby shootings between the previously allied gangs.
The senior Killer Beez member faces a range of serious charges but court documents show they are unrelated to the rugby league practice incident. He did not seek bail.
It is understood the man went to a rugby league practice at an Auckland sports ground last week to allegedly threaten a member of the rival Tribesmen gang while wielding a firearm.
That alleged incident set in motion the escalating series of shootings in south and west Auckland, and in the Far North town of Kaikohe.
The Killer Beez began about two decades ago as a youth feeder street gang for the Tribesmen in Otara but relations between the groups soured as the Killer Beez gained power and influence.
Five of the homes targeted by drivebys this week have in the past had links to gangs, but two other properties had no connections to gangs, Supt Rogers said, adding that highpowered rifles were used.
These were just incidents that were reported and she urged the public to report all shootings.
‘‘The risk that these escalating incidents pose is enormous.’’
One victim of a driveby shooting could be heard screaming ‘‘. . . my kids are here’’ as his Flat Bush house was sprayed with bullets on Tuesday night.
An innocent resident directly opposite the targeted house also found a bullet in the walkin wardrobe of his bedroom following the shooting shortly after 6.30pm that night.
It was one of four Auckland shootings within just one hour.
Resident Jimmy Tamaki said he was watching the news when the shooting occurred.
‘‘There’s three of us in here. It’s eyeopening. Just caught in the crossfire, [it’s] too close to home. It literally hit my house.
‘‘I think there’s some bullet holes in the fence as well.’’
A woman, who asked not to be named, was another forced to take cover as shots echoed down a driveway in Henderson
She said she was watching a movie when she heard four bangs about 11.20pm on Tuesday.
‘‘I thought it was a firework or something because [a shooting] never happened here,’’ she said.
Her partner, however, quickly realised it might be more serious and urged her to take precautions, including keeping the lights off.
‘‘He just told me to stay in the room — to try to be quiet — because we didn’t know what happened,’’ she said.
No arrests have been made after the seven shootings on Tuesday night and early yesterday morning, when a districtwide order was made for all officers in Auckland to be armed. The order has since ended. —