Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Attribute to West Waikato Area Commander Inspector Will Loughrin:
Police enquiries are ongoing following a serious incident in Taupiri this morning.
At about 9.30am, Police responded to reports of a firearms-related incident on Te Putu Street and Greenlane Ave, Taupiri, where multiple gunshots were directed at a vehicle.
One person has received moderate injuries and is in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital.
We understand the victim and the offender have links to each other.
Officers who attended were armed as a precaution.
We believe this to have been an isolated incident and do not believe there is any further risk to the public.
Police are currently investigating an incident that occurred yesterday which we believe is connected to what happened this morning. We have subsequently executed a search warrant in relation to this.
This investigation remains ongoing.
The school was placed into lockdown as a precaution this morning, however this has now been lifted.
There was and is no immediate risk to the children at a nearby school.
At this stage, we do not believe this is in relation to ongoing gang tensions across the country.
We understand there will be unease in the community, we have a significant Police presence in the area, and we will maintain that for as long as we need to.
There is a specialist team of staff working on this to have the situation resolved as soon as possible.
Anyone who feels unsafe is asked to contact Police immediately on 111.
We understand there were multiple witnesses who saw or heard this altercation, we ask them to please come forward as we continue to investigate the incident.
Any detail anyone has, whether big or small, could be helpful to the investigation and we encourage you to contact Police on 105.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS.
Anna Thompson/NZ Police
