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Some hailed tagger killer Bruce Emery a hero, but many residents of the Mahia Rd area of Manurewa where Pihema Cameron was stabbed felt the four-year jail sentence was too short.
Storeman James McDonald, 26, was outraged at the sentence, and said he thought Emery "deserved to be hanged" for what he did.
Mr McDonald felt the sentence would just encourage others to take the law into their own hands.
"The sentencing is just bullshit, eh? It's going to make Manurewa an even more dangerous place because more people will start stabbing anyone they are not happy with, if they think four years is all they're going to get," he said.
Emery, a businessman who lives in the area with his wife and three daughters, was described as private and weird by those who knew him.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said Emery often walked down the street "like a zombie" and often would not even return a greeting.
"He's kind of weird, but other than his church friends, he doesn't seem to mix much with people living here."
Michael Murray, 35, a stay-at-home father, said the general consensus among people living in the area was that Emery shouldn't have killed.
"We can understand the anger in him but killing is not right. He shouldn't have taken the law in his own hands," Mr Murray said.
Joseph Ahsoon, 25, said Emery's actions were "over the top" as tagging was "pretty minor stuff". He thought seven years would have been a more appropriate sentence.
Madhu Wallabh, who works at local dairy McDivitt St Superette, said Emery's victim, Pihema Cameron, used to frequent her shop.
"He is not a bad boy, and we felt very shocked and sad when we learned that he had been killed," said Ms Wallabh, originally from India.
However, a neighbour who wanted to be known only as John for fear of reprisal said Emery deserved a medal for what he did, and called him a hero.
John, who had his home vandalised with graffiti six times last year, said tagging used to be a "massive problem" on the street but had "stopped overnight" since the stabbing.
"Emery did what the police and city council failed to do, and for that he deserves a medal, not a jail sentence."
