Police inside a cordon set up to allow a scene investigation at the intersection of Bank St and Vine St. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Police inside a cordon set up to allow a scene investigation at the intersection of Bank St and Vine St. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A 20-year-old man is set to appear in court in Whangārei today, charged with murder following the death of person in the city at the weekend.
A 17-year-old has been charged with injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was to appear in Youth Court today.
Northland police were yesterday seeking video footage of a violent clash on Bank St shortly before midnight on Saturday.
Officers were called after reports of disorder, during which a person had been severely injured.
The person was taken to Whangārei Hospital but died a short time later.
Northland district manager criminal investigations Detective Inspector Dene Begbie said investigators wanted to hear from witnesses to the incident, especially those reported to have used their cellphones to film the clash as it unfolded.
"In particular, police are aware a number of people recorded parts of this incident and we would like to speak to these people and review their footage," Begbie said.
Bank St was closed to the public as police investigated a homicide that took place on Saturday night. Photo / Michael Cunningham
People attempting to spend their Sunday morning downtown were turned away from lower Bank St, Vine St, and the bus depot on Rose St as investigators carried out a scene examination.
Officers focused on an area outside Bob Cafe on Bank St as part of their homicide investigation, pictured here with discarded items pixelated. Photograph / Michael Cunningham
While most businesses in the area had a scheduled closure on Sunday, the Advocate did witness a number of C3 churchgoers showing up for a 10am service only to be turned away at the cordons.
However, the death soon made headlines and left a trail of shocked reactions from the district's residents.
Generally people were concerned about how unsafe Whangārei was becoming.
Whangārei mayor Sheryl Mai said Saturday's tragedy wasn't a reflection on the district, but rather the country as a whole.
"This could happen anywhere in New Zealand – it's a societal concern rather than specific to Whangārei," she said. "I want to reassure people that this is a very safe community. When those trends in crime are happening police are onto them very quickly."
Security staff turned back vehicles around at the police cordon located on Water St. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Mai said Northland police put a lot of effort into crime prevention because "once a crime had happened, it could not unhappen".
Safety measures included CCTV cameras in central city hotspots that are manned by volunteers, working closely with CitySafe patrols, and additional police officers being stationed in Northland.
A dedicated portal has been set up to allow anyone with images or recordings of Saturday's incident to download this information.
Anyone who may have seen anything are asked to call the police on 105 and quote file number 210613/2169 or anonymously by phoning Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
