Police have laid charges in relation to a spate of gang shootings across the city, including in east Auckland, in May last year.
The violence saw numerous homes targeted in shootings and was believed to be the result of tensions between the Tribesmen and Killer Beez gangs.
Among the two local homes allegedly shot at by armed offenders during the episode were one in Bleakhouse Road, Mellons Bay, and another in Glen Osborne Terrace, Flat Bush.
Following the shootings, detective inspector Warrick Adkin of Counties Manukau Police’s criminal investigation branch said officers had responded to seven firearm incidents across the city on the night of May 24, 2022.
They were in Flat Bush, Otara, Papatoetoe, Papakura, Mt Albert, Henderson, and Te Atatu.
“Police are not aware of any injuries at this stage,” Adkin said of the multiple shootings.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the specific circumstances around what has taken place and any potential links between the incidents.
“We want to reassure the community we are treating these incidents very seriously and police staff are on the ground providing reassurance at each location.
“It is extremely fortunate no one has been harmed in these incidents and we know the community will be as disgusted as we are by this callous behaviour.
“These offenders have shown blatant disregard for the safety of our communities by their indiscriminate and reckless use of firearms in public.
“We ask people to call police immediately on 111 if they hear or see anything concerning in their neighbourhood.”
Regarding the shooting in Bleakhouse Road, Adkin said police received reports just before 9pm on May 25 last year that a firearm had been discharged in the direction of a residential property.
No injuries had been reported and enquires were carried out to establish the circumstances of what had happened, including a review of available CCTV footage, he said.
Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown at the time said the Labour Government’s “soft on crime” approach to law and order was to blame for the spate of alleged gang shootings.
Brown, whose electorate encompasses Mellons Bay, said the shooting in Bleakhouse Road was “far too close to home for many [people] who live in a street which is known as a great place to live and raise a family”.
“It is only just a matter of time before someone is wounded or killed by the out-of-control gang warfare we are seeing in Auckland,” he said.
“This Government’s soft-on-crime approach isn’t working and New Zealanders know it.
“I’ve had enough. My constituents have had enough. New Zealanders have had enough.
“It’s time for action against gangs and their illegal guns.”
Police today revealed two men, aged 26 and 29 years old, had been charged as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged discharge of firearms toward dwellings in Counties Manukau in May 2022.
A police spokesperson said the men were due to appear in the Manukau District Court on May 25 jointly charged with conspiracy to murder and common assault.
