Armed police responding to sudden death in Massey. Video / Hayden Woodward
The Afghan community in Auckland is in a state of shock and grief after the killing of a young woman in Massey.
An Afghan Hazara leader in Auckland told the Herald a sense of fear and shock has once again washed through his community, the members of which fled Taliban persecution for a safe life in New Zealand.
A 30-year-old man was arrested yesterday and charged with the woman’s murder. He is due to appear in Waitākere District Court today.
Police launched a homicide investigation shortly after the woman was found dead near the Waitakere Badminton Centre about 5.45pm on Monday.
Members of the public say they saw a body on the road and heard a woman screaming. Witnesses described seeing a shirtless man holding a knife. There has been no word yet on the motivation for the killing, and the community remains in the dark.
The woman who died was aged in her early 20s and was from a large and respected family of Hazara, an ethnic minority of the Shia Muslim faith persecuted by the Taliban, members of the community in Auckland told the Herald.
Her father was among the hundreds of refugees who tried to seek asylum in Australia aboard a rundown fishing vessel from Indonesia.
An officer seen speaking to members of Waitakere Badminton Club on Royal Rd, Massey. Photo / Akula Sharma
It lost power and was rescued by the Norwegian container ship MV Tampa. Australia refused Tampa entry to its ports, sparking an international incident dubbed “the Tampa affair”. New Zealand eventually accepted about 150 refugees - among them the woman’s father.
It’s understood the woman was a law student at AUT and had been planning a religious pilgrimage to Iraq next week.
Assadullah Nazari, president of the Hazara Afghan Association Incorporated, said he believed the woman was born in New Zealand. The Hazara community in Auckland is rallying around the family, who are gathered at their home near where the woman was killed.
He said he had spoken to the family, and planned to head to the house with some elders to see what support they could provide.
The distress of the community was compounded by the grief and worry they still felt from the Christchurch mosque attacks and the fact they had no idea of the motivation for the young woman’s killing.
“We left our own country, the country that we were born in ... we left to go somewhere to be safe and live our lives in peace, and in the community,” he said.
“And then we come here and we get that shocking thing that happened with the Christchurch mosque attack.”
The worry had again intensified after the death of a Hazara in Auckland, he said.
“The community’s in shock. Everyone is worried, especially with the young ones that they have.”
Members of the Afghani community were gathering at the family’s house last night to pay their respects.
A local resident told 1News his family heard a woman’s screams, then saw police swarming the area before an officer told them to stay inside.
Detective senior sergeant Nick Poland said police arrested and charged a 30-year-old man with the woman’s murder yesterday afternoon.
“Police are continuing to support the victim’s family through this very difficult time and hope the arrest brings some reassurance to the Massey community,” Poland said.
“The investigation team have worked through the night to bring this matter to a successful conclusion.”
Police search bushes near Waitakere Badminton Centre in Massey after the woman's death. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Poland said inquiries will continue over the coming days and police would like to thank the members of the community who assisted both at the scene and over the past 24 hours.
“As the matter is now before the courts, police are unable to comment further.”
The Herald understands the woman was fatally injured in an alleyway next to the sports centre.
The entrance of Waitakere Badminton Centre and an alleyway that runs alongside it has been taped off as police investigate the death.
The entrance and exit to the alleyway were yesterday being guarded by uniformed officers, with police speaking to residents and members of the public outside the badminton centre.
Police on the scene outside the Waitakere Badminton Centre on Royal Rd Massey after a woman was stabbed to death. Photo / Lincoln Tan
The alleyway and a corridor to the side of the centre were covered with a tarpaulin, with a ladder spanning both paths.
A neighbour who lives on Cedar Heights Ave told the Herald news of the woman’s death had rocked the community.
“We are very concerned, our street has had a lot of problems, and the area is not safe anymore. Especially for the kids, they go through that alleyway a lot.”
Another neighbour said the victim lived in a house that has a driveway running down the side of the alleyway next to the badminton centre.
