"He's lucky, a few millimetres to the other side [of his spine] it might have been a different story," Constable Rhyan Honeyfield said.
"[Air rifles] are a lot more powerful these days, these are high powered enough to penetrate the skin - they can be quite dangerous."
The victim spent a night at Hawke's Bay Hospital and was discharged on Monday. A decision had not been made as to whether surgery was required.
It was the first shooting of this type in recent history and there had not been any further reports to police, but Mr Honeyfield urged caution.
"It seems to be totally random, they are quite new to the area. We are hoping it will just be a one off, our advice is not to engage."
The victims had not long been in Hawke's Bay and didn't have known gang links. Both were "shaken up" after the shooting
They were able to provide only basic details about the vehicle - a four-door sedan either black or dark green with a spoiler on the back.
It may also have red or orange stripes on the bonnet and boot.
"It was described as being a V8 as it sounded like a big car and had thick, spoked mag wheels," Mr Honeyfield said.
Police wanted to speak with anyone who witnessed the shooting or who may have seen the car around Kiwi St on Sunday evening.
Hawke's Bay Today spoke to one Camberley resident, who was extremely disappointed to hear of the incident, though she was unable to shed light on who might be responsible.
"We hate when stuff like this happens in our community," said the woman, who did not want to be named.
