Hundreds farewell gunman Jan Molenaar

The last violent act carried out by Jan Molenaar before he died didn't stop hundreds of friends and family farewelling him at a funeral in Hastings today.

Molenaar was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when police entered his Chaucer Rd home on Saturday, two days after he shot dead Senior Constable Len Snee and wounded three others, including two police officers.

He had returned home from a walk on Thursday last week to find the officers executing a cannabis search warrant at his house and reacted by shooting them with one of many high powered guns in his possession.

Dozens of police held him at bay, taking cover from his gunfire, until they eventually entered his house and found him dead in a bedroom.

Molenaar was initially taken to Ruahapia Marae near Hastings before being transported this morning on the back of a customised Ford V8 truck to Crestwood Chapel in the city.

Family members rode on the back of the truck while a procession of motorcycles followed closely.

An eye witness said between 200 and 300 people attended the service at the chapel before Molenaar was taken away to be cremated.

No police officers were observed at the funeral and little aggression was shown toward media watching proceedings.

Molenaar's funeral came two days after Mr Snee was farewelled by thousands of people including Prime Minister John Key at a service in Napier on Wednesday.

Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana told Radio New Zealand's Waatea News that his iwi had buried one son in Mr Snee, and another in Molenaar.

"Kikioterangi, Len's tipuna (ancestor), and Jan's tipuna were brothers," he said. "So we have hapu about 20 miles apart mourning the death of our sons, we have Kahungunu mourning the death of our sons".

"One's a hero and the other one zero, but they're still our sons," he said.

"We still accord them the protocols, the kawa and tikanga we accord everyone else. They are the sons of Kahungunu."

- NZPA