Third shooting in Hawke's Bay in two months sounded like 'fireworks': bar owner

There has been three reported shootings across Napier and Hastings in under two months. Photo / NZME

A Hastings bar owner says he thought a shotgun blast fired at his premises was a firework being let off.

There have now been three shootings across Napier and Hastings in seven weeks including in Greenmeadows (September 26), Taradale (October 28), and central Hastings (on Sunday).

Police remain on the hunt for the alleged offenders in all three incidents with no arrests as at Monday.

In the latest incident, during the early hours of Sunday morning, a gun believed to be a shotgun was fired at Bar 2013, a busy pub in central Hastings, from a passing car.

Police said it was "by pure chance" no one was injured as there were a lot of patrons inside.

Some of the shot from the round went into the garden bar area, police confirmed.

The bar which was shot at early on Sunday morning. Photo / NZME

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward about that incident which happened about 1.40am.

Bar 2013 owner Barry Kumar said he and his security guard both thought the loud gunshot was fireworks, and it broke some glass and also caused damage to the roof.

"I thought it was somebody doing fireworks outside," he said.

"A guy outside, one of the patrons, told me that somebody had [fired] a gunshot."

He said he called police and closed the bar for a period for the safety of patrons.

During a separate shooting in the Napier suburb of Greenmeadows on September 26, one man in his 30s was shot in the leg outside a construction site on Tait Dr, after he finished work.

He was still in hospital as at the end of last week, with a fresh patient update unavailable on Monday.

Police cordon off Nikau St in Taradale, Napier following a suspected shooting in October. Photo / Warren Buckland

In the other shooting in the Napier suburb of Taradale, on October 28, armed police swarmed Nikau St after a suspected gunshot was fired in the area.

A man in his 40s was injured in the incident but was discharged the same day from hospital.

Anyone with information about the shootings can contact police on 105, or report information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.