Accidental shooting in South Auckland

Firearms Safety Specialists NZ is "dismayed" about the series of incidents. Photo / Supplied

A 25-year-old man who was shot in South Auckland yesterday is now stable.

Police were called to a house on Tyrone St in Otara about 5pm after reports there had been a shooting - and arrived to find a sawn-off shotgun and a man with a serious head wound.

The man was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition and was now stable, a Middlemore spokeswoman told NZME News Service this morning.

It was the third accidental shooting in New Zealand in less than two weeks. Reporoa 11-year-old Connor Brian Phillips died in a hunting accident on October 11 and Carlos Tauhou Ngamoki, 27, died in a Te Kaha hunting accident just three days later.

Firearms Safety Specialists NZ is "dismayed" about the series of incidents.

Consultant Nicole McKee said the latest shooting highlighted the need for the utmost care when handling firearms.

"A firearm is a lethal tool that deserves respect. If you become complacent you could become a statistic," she said.

It was the gun user's responsibility to apply the seven basic rules of firearm safety every time they handled a gun, she said.

Police Inspector Tony Wakelin said police were still investigating the circumstances of the Otara shooting, but said the shooting may have been an accident.

Only one person was being spoken to in connection with the incident and police were not looking for anyone else, he said.

Mr Wakelin said the incident once again highlighted the need for people to be careful around firearms.

"At this point and time, it's too early to say exactly what's happened. But initial indications are that it may have been an accidental shooting," he said.

"Don't play with firearms at all. Every weapon should be treated as loaded and in this case, clearly it was, and someone's been seriously injured with a firearm."