Drive-by shooting — call for end to ‘gang warfare’
Nightclub owner in shock after his staff member ‘just fell to the ground’
ANapier nightclub owner who stood next to a staff member as he was shot in a drive-by shooting in West Quay has called for an end to “gang warfare” in his city.
The Thirsty Whale Bar owner Chris Sullivan said he and three other staff members were standing next to their co-worker when he was shot outside the nightclub around 12.30am yesterday.
More than 20 police officers — many armed — swarmed the area and found two people shot by what witnesses said was between three and five shots from a car.
It came minutes after a fist fight on the West Quay footpath and as roughly 20 others lined up to get inside the packed bar.
Sullivan said he heard the shots, then watched as his worker “just fell to the ground”.
“I’m still in shock after seeing an innocent friend and staff member just doing his job, working to support his family, shot outside the bar from the public wharf across the road because of gang warfare,” he said.
Police said five men in a vehicle drove up and fired shots at a group of people, who appeared to be known to them, standing outside.
“One of the men standing outside the bar sustained an injury to their hand and a bar staff member sustained an injury to their groin,” a police spokeswoman said.
A man in his 20s and a man in his 30s were taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital with moderate to serious injuries. One remained in hospital yesterday afternoon.
The Thirsty Whale was shut for the night as a result.
Sullivan said while the police responded quickly, gang tensions in the city had reached boiling point and begun to draw in innocent parties, with immediate action needed.
“The Government needs to step up and protect the innocent public and not have the illusion this gang problem will just go away by itself.” He said there was a risk “more innocent people will be shot or killed”.
“Luckily, it happened on the street, so most patrons knew nothing until we closed.” Sullivan said the injured staff member had three hours of surgeries but was doing well.
Hawke’s Bay district commander superintendent Jeanette Park said the incident is believed to have stemmed from an earlier altercation between rival gangs.
In response, police had increased their presence and authorised the temporary carrying of firearms for staff across Hawke’s Bay — a decision which is reviewed daily, she said.
Park said incidents like these were concerning for communities.
“Police acknowledge there have been a number of reported incidents involving the discharge of firearms across various locations in Hawke’s Bay, in particular over recent weeks,” she said. “Over recent weeks a number of search warrants have been executed across Eastern District focusing on offending involving the use of firearms with a number of arrests made and firearms and ammunition recovered.”
The incident will be the focus of an extensive police investigation by the Criminal Investigation Branch.
Revellers spilled into the streets in the chaotic aftermath of yesterday morning’s shooting, many in shock at what they’d witnessed.
Hana, from the Czech Republic, said she was waiting near the head of a 20-strong queue to get into the nightclub when a large fist fight between about a dozen people broke out on the footpath nearby.
A small group of people peeled off from the fight and jumped into a parked car on West Quay, she said.
“Suddenly they were shooting,” she said. “I was in shock, like I couldn’t move. I was just trying to hide myself somewhere, but I was in shock and didn’t do anything. There was some kind of barrel at the bar entrance, and I hid myself behind it.”
Hana said she witnessed the barrel of a gun appear from the car window, masked by clothing, before watching as between three and five shots were fired. The two men she saw get shot were bleeding but conscious in the minutes after the incident, she said.
Hana, who has been travelling in New Zealand since September 2019, said she couldn’t believe the amount of violence she had witnessed in the country. She has had to visit a police station seven times in the 18 months she has been here. “I would like to say that New Zealand is considered a safe place but that’s not true. Every single city, something happens.”
Suddenly they were shooting. I was in shock, like I couldn’t move. I was just trying to hide myself somewhere . . . Hana, tourist from Czech Republic