Two people arrested after alleged kidnapping in Akld
Two people have been arrested following an alleged kidnapping in Auckland.
The pair, aged 32 and 28, were arrested in central Auckland yesterday afternoon, Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said.
The alleged kidnapping on Tuesday evening saw a woman dragged from a property in Beach Haven by three people. She was later found in Greenhithe, with injuries to her eye, a fractured spine and a broken foot.
She managed to escape her alleged shotgun-wielding captors after their car stopped working, according to her caregiver.
The victim’s caregiver, who did not want to be named, told Stuff she was in the house when three people, two men and a woman, stormed in.
The alleged kidnappers were in the house for around five minutes, in which time they ran through the house to the sleep-out, where the woman was staying.
The group allegedly dragged her outside, where an altercation then took place.
A gunshot was fired during that time, though it did not hit the victim.
One of the alleged kidnapers was another client of the caregiver, who she said was obsessed with the victim despite never having a romantic relationship. “She’s in shock,” her caregiver said. The caregiver said she had worked in whānau support and methamphetamine awareness for over two decades – and had taken in the woman as she had no family support in the South Island, where she previously lived.
The pair had been living together for over a year.
“She’s a lovely girl, she’s loved her time in Auckland ... she’s getting to do all the things that a normal person should be able to.
“I took her in because she has been battling a few demons.”
The woman recieved treatment for her injuries and is in a stable condition, McNeill said. The injuries were not related to the gun being fired.
McNeill said the matter was being treated very seriously as police knew the incident would be alarming to those in the Beach Haven community.
Cordons at the Beach Haven address had been lifted, but a police presence would remain, he said.
Yesterday morning, armed police were still at the Beach Haven address, with officers seen coming in and out of the property.
The street was open, but police with rifles remained outside the address.
A neighbour who didn’t want to be named said they heard a bang, quickly followed by the sound of the police Eagle helicopter.
“You kind of heard a wave come through of ‘lock your doors, lock your doors, lock your doors’ from neighbours across the fence.”
The man said residents were on high alert following a incident involving the same house a few weeks back, which saw his car get “dinged up”.
“We’re definitely locking doors.
“I do have concerns. I think trouble finds this street and that house with a degree of regularity.”
A man at a neighbouring property on Drone View Pl in Beach Haven said his family heard a gun shot ring out while they were watching the tv programme Seven Sharp.
By the time they went outside to have a look, police had swarmed the area.
“It’s a bit unsettling,” he said. Northcote MP Dan Bidois said he was devastated to hear about the incident, which was concerning for all in Beach Haven.
“It’s a tight knit community and when things like this happen, it has ripples across the North Shore.”
It was not the first incident he had heard about concerning the house on Drome View Pl.
He said he had “full faith” the police would bring justice to the matter and find those responsible.