Shock, disbelief as Northland man's van shot at on Puketi Rd

Tony Atkinson's van was shot at while he was driving on Puketi Rd about 20km west of Kerikeri. Photo / Peter de Graaf

When Tony Atkinson heard a loud bang from the back of his van as he was driving home he assumed he'd had a blowout.

But when he pulled over he discovered, instead of a flat tyre, a hole punched through his rear window — and realised with a shock he'd been shot at.

The incident occurred about 5.30pm on Puketi Rd, an unsealed road skirting Puketi Forest about 20km west of Kerikeri, last Thursday.

Atkinson, a carpet layer from Awanui, said there was ''no way'' a stone could have been flicked up through the back window, and later he found the pellet to prove it.

The pellet punctured the rear window of Tony Atkinson's van. Photo / Peter de Graaf

It must have been a high-powered slug gun to penetrate thick glass and a layer of tint and still travel some distance inside his van.

''I got a hell of a fright at first. But it was more disbelief that someone would go to that extent,'' Atkinson said.

''What if it was someone else, like a little old lady in a little Suzuki, or a tourist? Or what if they'd shot head on? Anything could have happened. It was just lucky it was me in a big van.''

There were no other vehicles around and no people or houses to be seen, though there were a number of driveways in the area.

''I think it's just bored kids, taking out a slug gun and telling their parents they're going hunting.''

If that turned out to be the case he urged parents to keep tabs on where their children were and what they were up to.

Atkinson said he notified police as soon as he got home. They were taking it seriously and planned to visit him on Friday night to photograph the van and take away the pellet.

Atkinson's partner, Jordan Daniel, shared photos of the shot-out window on a Northland Facebook page to warn others to be vigilant.

She was later contacted by a woman who said her son-in-law had also been shot at on Puketi Rd just before Christmas.

The pellet had shattered the car's rear left window and lodged in a child's car seat at head height. It was fortunate no children were in the car at the time. That incident was, however, not reported to police.