Three people are being treated for gunshot wounds after an incident in Otara, South Auckland.
As police investigate a drive-by shooting which left a young man and two teens injured, South Auckland community leaders have voiced their fears for growing unrest in the area.
Long-time youth worker Sully Paea has issued a grave warning about what he describes as unrest in Otara's youth community.
"From what I've seen there are some things brewing behind the scenes," he said.
"I'm sensing the storm. I know when there are dark clouds coming. That's what I'm feeling in the community at the moment. "
His comments follow the random shooting of three young people, including two teenagers, who were confronted by a car load of people driving down Kudu Rd in Otara two days ago.
Paea said the crux of the unrest in the Otara youth was having nothing to do, and nowhere to go.
Funding cuts meant resources and social workers were stretched, he said.
Long-time youth worker Sully Paea has issued a grave warning about what he describes as unrest in Otara's youth community. Photo / Sarah Ivey
"There's nothing here at all. For the past 10 years Otara has been really quiet- until recently. The youth aren't connecting with any activities, there's nothing for the youth. That is my observation," he said.
He was "frustrated" with the inaction and questioned whether it would take a death to get something done.
"(Youth) are not connecting with anyone, they're out there doing their thing, doing drugs."
He said for years teenagers had told him: "Give me something to keep me busy and I'll get out of gangs and drugs."
Yet there was still little support for them in the community, he said.
"They've lost their trust in us," Paea said.
Lotu Fuli - Chair - Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board. Photo / Supplied
Local Board chair Lotu Fuli stressed the shooting was an isolated incident, but agreed that a lack of resources in the area was an issue.
Although a push to get young people into work or training had halved rates of young people not being in employment, education or training (NEET) in the area, numbers were still higher than the national average.
Even if a young person did well at school, a lack of facilities in the area- particularly sports outlets- meant they often stagnated when they left school, Fuli said.
"For most of our kids, once they've left school they just can't carry that on."
"Young people have nothing to do and nowhere to go," she said.
A community meeting was planned for the coming weeks, and Fuli expected police would update her on the investigation into the shooting.
In the meantime she advised parents to keep an eye on their children during school holidays, and for members of the community to be safe.
"I wouldn't want people to feel like they shouldn't (walk around), but I think people should take extra care," she said.
Detective Sergeant Len Leleni, of Counties Manukau police, said the police were unable to comment on whether youth violence was on the rise in Otara because of the way police data was stored in age groups of five years.
However, Leleni told the Herald on Sunday the police took youth crime very seriously and had specialist Youth Aid staff who worked with young offenders, their whanau and community.
Leleni urged members of the public to avoid taking matters into their own hands and instead report incidents of concern to the police.
"Police don't condone threats of violence or intimidation. Any threatening incident reported to police will be taken seriously and responded to appropriately," he said.
Police did not respond to questions about whether they had increased patrols in Otara following Thursday's shooting, but Leleni said they "run targeted activity based in response to particular issues in communities and prioritise and focus resources based on the needs of the local area".
Police were continuing to make enquiries into the incident and were focused on ensuring people felt safe in their homes and holding those responsible for the shooting to account, he said.
"We understand the concern that an incident like the [this one] can bring to what is a tight-knit community."
He said anyone who witnessed the shooting or had information that could help police in their investigation should call Counties Manukau police on 09 261 1300 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
