He is now in a stable condition.
A police cordon was put in place on Warren St and Eastbourne St, Hastings, where officers conducted a scene examination.
A police spokeswoman said the offender/offenders are yet to be located and enquiries are ongoing into the incident.
"It is not believed to have been an incident between gangs at this stage," she said.
"We are in the early days of the investigation however, and are still establishing the circumstances."
The St John spokeswoman said two ambulances and a rapid response vehicle attended the scene.
The incident came just 12 hours after another suspected stabbing in Flaxmere on Sunday morning.
Police and ambulances were called to the Hastings suburb after reports of an assault and disorder.
A witness said the altercation occurred "between a lot of young people of gang affiliations".
The incident happened near the intersection of Flaxmere Ave and Margate Ave, police said.
Contrary to the witness reports, police did not believe the incident was gang-related.
Police later said one person was hospitalised with superficial injuries.
Early last week, two men also suffered gunshot wounds in separate firearms incidents on consecutive nights in Napier.
A man was rushed to hospital after being shot in a drive-by shooting in Napier on Tuesday night, before another shooting, in Maraenui, on Wednesday.
Last month, six people were arrested and two stabbed when 14 people brawled in Flaxmere.
Six people arrested in the November fight were referred to Youth Aid.