Auckland drive-by shooting: Māngere East home targeted, grandma speaks out

An Auckland grandmother is baffled and asking why a “punk-ass” targeted her home after it was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by shooting.

Three adults and a baby were in the home when it was targeted, with some of the ammunition travelling through multiple rooms, but incredibly no one was hurt.

Whoever shot at the Haddon St home in Māngere East on Thursday night is still on the run and police investigations are ongoing.

The 58-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, was sitting in the lounge watching the State of Origin with her daughter, baby granddaughter and ex-partner, a 79-year-old man on dialysis.

“It was close because I was sitting in that chair right there.

“It sounded like it was right outside the window, I was just about to get up and actually open the curtain and see what was going on.”

She initially thought the shots at her home were the sounds of firecrackers.

“[My daughter] grabbed the baby and took off and then I hit the deck . . . I thought she might have seen something I didn’t see.

“Then when it was quiet I got up and I went into the room, and I saw her and baby was crying and I said what’s the matter? . . . and she had heard the bullet come through the front door.”

There are several bullet holes in windows and weatherboards, detectives placed at least 18 forensic markers where bullet casings were found on the roadway outside the address.

“I didn’t really know what a gunshot sounded like until then. Now I know.

“There’s a hole in my wall. There’s a hole in my window.”

The tenant in her house after it was targeted in a drive-by shooting in Māngere East. Photo / Jason Oxenham

At least two of the bullets travelled the length of the house and into the backyard.

“They came straight through the bedroom, straight through the window and through the wardrobe into the back room, and then out through the window.

“They must have driven up and just started firing at the front of the house.”

The family left the home that night and were interviewed by police for three hours.

On the same night, a home in Onehunga was targeted by two masked gunmen who shot through a garage door.

“When we got back, I opened up the curtains and I was sitting here just watching cars pass,” the Māngere East grandmother said.

“And my girl says, ‘Mum, don’t sit by the window’, I said, ‘I’m just bloody paranoid’.”

The woman said she’s still none the wiser as to why the drive-by shooting targeted her home.

“I have no idea . . . I’m hoping they got the wrong house because I can’t see what connects that sort of behaviour here. It’s just ridiculous.

“[I told police] you can check all our backgrounds . . . and if you find something let me know.

“We’ve been here for between 16 to 18 years and never had these heavy experiences.

“This is not what I know and that was the scary part . . . we don’t know why.”

The tenant in the kitchen of her house, which was targeted in a drive-by shooting in Māngere East. Photo / Jason Oxenham

She’s anxious to find out whether the attack on the home was a case of mistaken identity or a completely random attack.

“Why would you randomly attack people like that?

“I’ve swung between being scared to being angry now to having a bit of a laugh . . . I just didn’t know what to do.”

The community was usually a safe one, she said, where she felt comfortable leaving her door unlocked for short periods and trusted her neighbours to look out for each other.

“We take care of one another. So yeah, this house for me, I’ve never felt any sort of danger in it.

“I just can’t believe that in my lifetime, I would never, ever have thought I’d experience a drive-by shooting.

“I’m not giving up everything just because you want to be a little pr*ck and go past shooting up my house.”

Some bullets passed through several rooms in the Māngere East. Photo / Jason Oxenham

After the attack, she wasn’t sure she would be able to feel safe again inside her home, but since then she’s decided to stay put.

“I’ve been here that long. I’ve raised children here. I’ve raised grandchildren here. And I don’t want to lose my house.

“But I still feel this is my home, that I built over that time, and I don’t want to be scared out of my house.

“Just because some punk-ass decided to try and shoot my house . . . if I’m gonna die I’d just rather die in my own home, but I’d like to know why.”

Police have been approached for comment.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Jaime began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021, as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.