Arrest follows Otaki shooting

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Neighbours of a woman shot dead at her Otaki home say a man was seen running from her house yelling that a person had been shot.

The 23-year-old died of gunshot wounds at Wellington Hospital yesterday morning, after being airlifted there in a critical condition on Sunday evening.

Police were called to the property shortly after 4pm on Sunday, after reports that a person had been shot.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she was among several people who saw a man running down the driveway before authorities arrived.

"He said: 'She's been shot, she's been shot'!" the neighbour said.

"He [was] running up and down the driveway, pretty upset and what have you, screaming and yelling.

"Then I screamed out to my [relative] to get inside. Somebody's out with a gun or a rifle."

The neighbour said at that point, the man spotted a woman walking up the road and ran towards her, telling her to follow him.

"Then he ran down the road ... and he went up to her and said: 'She's been shot, she's been shot', then started running back towards the house.

"He looked back at her and said: 'Hey, she's been shot, she's been shot, come, come, come' and they both went up to the house."

Neighbours phoned police, who arrived shortly afterwards.

Neighbours said the woman and man - who are thought to be a couple - had been living at the property for only a few months.

They kept to themselves and the neighbour said they had at least one child.

"I can see the kids' toys in the bedroom window now. There's definitely a child - maybe two," she said. "It's just freaky. You just don't expect this to happen on your street."

Police yesterday launched a homicide investigation after the woman died in hospital.

A 26-year-old man appeared in the Levin District Court yesterday, charged with murder and the unlawful possession of a firearm.

Both his and the victim's names have been suppressed.

Anyone with information should contact Levin Police on (06) 366 0500 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.