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A prominent Dunedin activist and former Green Party candidate seriously injured in a shooting incident has been named.
He is Jack Brazil, an environmental and social justice campaigner who ran in the 2020 election for the Green Party in the Dunedin electorate.
At the time he ranked number 20 on their list.
A police spokeswoman said he had been seriously injured in the shooting and was in a stable condition yesterday afternoon.
Otago Regional councillor Alan Somerville, who stood on a Green Party ticket, said he hoped Brazil would be OK and his thoughts were with his family and friends.
He did not know anything else about the circumstances of the shooting, other than what had been reported and that Brazil had been involved.
‘”I just hope he’s going to be OK,” Somerville said.
Jack Brazil has been named as the victim of a shooting in central Dunedin. Photo / ODT
While Brazil had run for the Green Party candidacy in the Dunedin electorate in 2020, he had not put himself forward for candidacy for the next election, Somerville said.
Environmental activist and former Green Party leadership challenger James Cockle said hearing about the incident was “absolutely heartbreaking.
“We’re all thinking of him and our hearts go out to him,” Cockle said.
He was not sure of the nature of the incident, just that Brazil had been taken to hospital.
Armed police guard the scene neat the shooting in Dunedin. Photo / Gregor Richardson
Emergency services were called to Yours, a cafe and venue operated by the Ōtepoti Possibilities Co-operative in Moray Pl, at 3.05am yesterday.
Brazil is listed as a shareholder of the co-op.
A person affiliated with the space yesterday told the Otago Daily Times Brazil drove himself to the space after being shot in the liver, where he called for an ambulance but ended up getting a ride to hospital after flagging down a passing car.
A witness said the Armed Offenders Squad raided the premises about an hour later.
The space remained cordoned off while police investigated it yesterday.
A social media post by Yours noted the space had been used as a “refuge”.
It is understood to be otherwise unconnected to the shooting.
Brazil has long been involved in environmental and antifascist activism, including taking part in coal train blockades, pro-trans rights demonstrations and anti-phosphate actions.
He was involved in the opening of Yours in a December ceremony, stating to The Star that the collective’s aim at the space was to welcome people from all walks of life and add value to society.
