Man dies after serious assault in Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland

A man has died after a serious assault in Ōtāhuhu last night.

Emergency services were called to the incident on Sturges Ave about 9.20pm.

A scene guard remains in place as police continue to investigate.

Last night a witness at the scene said one person had been taken away by ambulance and police tape was around a house in Sturges Ave.

Police at the scene of a serious assault in Sturges Ave, Otahuhu. Photo / Hayden Woodward

"There are seven police cars and detectives questioning people."

Police said they were speaking to people at the house to establish exactly what took place.

A next-door neighbour said the people who lived at the property were quiet and kept to themselves. He or his family didn't hear a thing when asked about the incident.

The death comes after a man was shot at a bar in South Auckland early yesterday, the latest incident in five months of gun violence.

Police were called to Republic Bar, in Westfield Mall, Manukau, at 1.40am where a 31-year-old man had what appeared to be a gunshot wound, according to witnesses.

St John Ambulance said one patient was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a critical condition.

A Middlemore Hospital spokeswoman said this morning the man was in a stable condition.

The shooting is the eighth in five months of gun-related violence in South Auckland, which have killed three people dead and critically injured five.

In Ōtara three people have been shot in the past three months. Joseph Siaosi, 23, died on the lawn in front of the family home in Piako St after a person in a car shot him as he walked away from a confrontation.

Another two people have been shot in neighbouring Clover Park since April 20, where a third person also had to take cover just two weeks after the shooting death of Siaosi Tulua at his Darnell Cres, Clover Park, home when a man carrying a firearm walked up Palermo Place firing shots.

The violence extends to Māngere, where on March 13, Arthur (Afa) Brown, 26, was fatally shot outside a group of shops on Vine St just before 1am.

Eight weeks later, the president of the Killer Beez gang, Josh Masters, was shot at a Harley-Davidson store in Mt Wellington. Masters was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The frightening sequence of violence in the three South Auckland suburbs and nearby Mt Wellington has rocked the community, sparking calls for police to crack down on rising gang tensions.

The flurry of violence followed earlier troubles in South Auckland.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff told Morning Report in May about a dozen shootings had occurred in South Auckland within a year, most gang- and drug-related.

At a public meeting last month to address a rise in gun violence in South Auckland, Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina, a former police officer, said the level of violence was among the worst he had seen in 60 years living in the area.

Five months of gun violence

• On August 24, about 1.40am, a 31-year-old man was critically injured after a shooting at Republic Bar and Kitchen in Manukau.

• On August 9, a man suffered life-threatening injuries after a shooting in Billington Ave, Ōtara. A 31-year-old man was charged with wounding with reckless disregard.

• On July 26, a 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital in a critical condition after a shooting on Featherston Cres, Otara. A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with wounding.

• On July 6, a woman suffered serious injuries after being shot at a property on Dawson Rd, Clover Park. Two young men, aged 17 and 20, were charged with wounding.

• On May 17, Joseph Siaosi, 23, was fatally shot by an occupant of a car as he walked away from a confrontation. Siaosi died on the lawn in front of the family home in Piako St, Ōtara. Tamati Kas Simpson, 21, and Montana Manu, 22, have been charged with his murder.

• On April 26, the president of the Killer Beez gang, Josh Masters, was shot at a Harley-Davidson store in Mt Wellington. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition. A 39-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

• On April 20, Siaosi Tulua, 39, was shot dead at his home on Darnell Cres, in Clover Park. A 22-year-old has been charged with his murder. His death came two weeks after a resident in the Palermo Place area of Clover Park had to take cover when a man carrying a firearm walked up the street firing shots.

• On March 13, Arthur (Afa) Brown, 26, was fatally shot outside a group of shops on Vine St in Māngere just before 1am. A 20-year-old male has pleaded not guilty to murder.