Man shot after boozy fracas
I heard a woman crying and it was really bad. I wish I did call the police but all the cars left suddenly.
Pah St, Motueka, resident
Cordoned off: Fighting and screaming were heard at a Motueka home where people had been drinking before a young man was shot with a rifle.
Armed police found the man with a gunshot wound to his stomach after they were called to the rental property in Pah St, Motueka, about 4am yesterday.
He was rushed to Nelson Hospital in a serious condition, underwent emergency surgery and was expected to live, police said.
A .22 rifle was recovered from the home and two people were interviewed in connection with the shooting.
However, police wanted to speak to the victim before deciding whether to lay charges.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said there had been a lot of fighting, screaming and what sounded like punching from the property in the evening on Christmas Day.
‘‘We were about to call the police but then everything appeared to calm down.’’
She said a woman at the address was shouting at a man to return her dog. Cars had been going in and out for hours.
‘‘I heard a woman crying and it was really bad. I wish I did call the police but all the cars left suddenly,’’ the neighbour said.
‘‘It’s so difficult because you don’t want to interfere. Sometimes you just have fights and of course it is Christmas and people tend to have a bit much to drink.’’
Another neighbour, Hayley Percy, said she did not hear anything until the armed offenders squad arrived with dogs.
‘‘I thought it was a random dog but then we heard the police call the dog back. It was so loud.
‘‘When we saw the amount of police, I just went ‘Oh, my god’.’’
She did not have much to do with her neighbour other than ‘‘the odd gidday over the fence’’.
Tasman district commander Superintendent Richard Chambers said no-one had been charged in connection with the shooting by last night.
‘‘[Police are] not prepared to make decisions on who the shooter is until they’ve interviewed the victim,’’ he said.
He confirmed people were drinking at the home before the incident.