Neighbours ‘shocked’ as shooting leaves one dead and one injured
A Lower Hutt community is in shock after an apparent shooting early yesterday left one man dead and another fighting for his life in hospital.
Police found the dead man at a property on George St in Stokes Valley at about 2.05am and the wounded man a short distance away, Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said.
Emergency services rushed the surviving man to hospital, where he was treated for “life-threatening” injuries.
Residents awoke to a police cordon around the property and officers going door to door asking neighbours what they knew, as they tried to piece together the events of the night before.
Some said they were woken by loud bangs, with one man telling the Sunday Star-Times he also heard yelling but couldn’t make out the words.
He said it didn’t last long, and he went back to sleep before finding out someone had died, when he saw police swarming the area at daybreak.
Another neighbour said it was “terrifying” a shooting could happen on such a busy street that had so many kids around.
Hutt City councillor Naomi Shaw said it wasn’t something you would expect to happen in the area.
“It’s a pretty lovely community to live in, people are pretty shocked,” Shaw said.
She has lived in the area for close to 20 years and wouldn’t ever have expected that something like this could happen.
But she urged people to stay calm, let police get on with their investigation and get behind those who had been affected.
“My heart goes out to the families of those involved in this.”
A resident who had lived on George St for 14 years said he hadn’t heard a thing about the shooting nor any noises overnight.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. We get a bit of trouble like anywhere, but nothing with a tent like the one over there.”
Ryan said police understood the event would be “particularly distressing” for members of the community.
The scene examination ran through yesterday and there would be a “continuing police presence” on the street and the surrounding area throughout the weekend, Ryan added.
Not everyone was as obliging of the police presence, though, with one man launching into a tirade at three police officers who knocked at his door.
He accused them of not caring about the community there, and they promptly left.
A reporter at the scene said a number of people in gang colours were seen milling on the street near the cordoned-off house, although it wasn't immediately clear if there was a gang connection to the event.
Police didn’t respond to questions about whether the shooting was gang-related, nor whether the gang members had caused any trouble for police.
Ryan appealed to the community to contact police if they had any information they believed might help the investigation.
Police have asked anyone with CCTV or a dashcam in Stokes Valley and the area around Eastern Hutt Rd to get in touch.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police by phone on 105, or online at 105.police.govt.nz – using “update report”, referencing file number 231216/6245.
Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers, by calling 0800 555 111.