An Auckland councillor said armed police response teams are needed more than ever after a man was critically injured in a shooting in South Auckland overnight.
Police and emergency services were called to a property in Calthorp Close and a nearby park after reports of gunshots being heard in the area about 9.40pm.
A man suffered a gunshot injury and was transported to hospital in a critical condition.
"He is currently in a serious but stable condition in hospital," police said this morning.
A Middlemore Hospital spokeswoman said the man was in a stable condition this evening.
Acting Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said a scene guard remained at the scene and police would remain at the property today.
"Inquiries are ongoing in relation to the offenders involved."
A police officer at the scene said they had received reports of "multiple gunshots''.
It is understood the man was shot at a house on Calthorp Close before he was taken to Māngere Centre Park - about a minute's drive from the street.
A large cordon surrounds a house and a small cabin this morning.
A number of vehicles have also been contained within the cordon, where at least two police officers are standing guard armed with rifles.
Lights towards the back of the house are still on.
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Police said late last night that the offender involved was still outstanding and that the victim underwent emergency surgery at Middlemore Hospital.
A videographer at the scene told the Herald that the house was under armed guard late last night.
Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina said the rise in offences using firearms was shocking, and he hoped this was not the norm.
"These people - and I'm referring to the very small minority of people who are committing these offences - obviously have no regard for life and they have no issues around using firearms."
Filipaina said he did not want police to be armed while "out on the beat", but supported having armed response teams primed in areas deemed high-risk.
"If somebody's in my street with a firearm, I would rather the armed response team get there quicker, just to save more lives."
The former police officer said it would previously take up to an hour and a half for armed police to respond to an incident involving a firearm,
Filipaina retired from the police force three years ago, and said the use of firearms had definitely gotten worse.
"I spent 38 and a half years in the job ... I think there was only one occasion where I carried a firearm."
Witnesses reported nine police cars racing through Carterton.