There was a spate of five shootings in just two days in November in Ōtara. Photo / Dean Purcell
There was a spate of five shootings in just two days in November in Ōtara. Photo / Dean Purcell
As gunshots were heard this week, startled Ōtara residents feared their work to rally the community and broach a ceasefire between rival gangs had been undone.
Instead, it turned out the shots and explosions were part of the production of Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, which has been filming at a warehouse in East Tamaki.
However, producers failed to let anyone in the already-tense community know, Auckland Manukau Ward councillor Efeso Collins said.
"I was angry when I heard about it. I think it is a slap in the face for a community that has been working so hard to restore peace and calm.
"This is a community on the edge. It is completely offensive and lacks any kind of wisdom. If they had any sense of how the community was feeling, they would have reached out."
There has been a recent spate of firearms incidents involving rival gangs the Killer Beez and Tribesmen in South Auckland recently - at least five gang-related shootings in just two days in November.
Auckland Manukau Ward councillor Efeso Collins said producers of the Cowboy Bebop show simply needed to reach out to community leaders to share the information. Photo / File
Armed police were brought into Ōtara to counter the outbreak, before social workers, church and community leaders, local politicians and police got together to sort out the issue, and the two gangs were able to reach a truce to curb the bloodshed.
But after hearing the gunshots this week, Collins said he received many phone calls from residents concerned the ceasefire had been broken.
"I got at least eight calls in one night. I contacted police and discovered it was not the real thing, which I passed on to the community, but you can imagine how scared and frightened people are at the moment."
A police spokeswoman said they were given prior notice of intended filming in an industrial area of Ōtara across a number of days last week.
They received a handful of reports from the wider Ōtara area, where residents heard the sounds of gunshots.
Police at the scene of a suspected shooting in Ōtara in November. Photo / Dean Purcell
In some of the reports, police attended the area and spoke with residents to provide them with reassurance.
While police had been warned, Collins said it was still on the producers to be aware of the community they were working in.
"This rests on the producers to reach out. This has been a harrowing time for families, and if they had known anything about the community in which they were working they could have communicated it to various leaders and the message would have got out.
"Instead, they have helped instil further fear. It is unfair on everyone who has been working so hard together."
A source close to the Netflix production confirmed that both police and FENZ had been notified about the expected noises around the production, as was part of their policy.
Whenever Netflix filmed scenes featuring firearms in an area which might be seen by the public, police were also notified.
Prior to the film shoot in South Auckland, neighbours were also canvassed by production officials. That included doorknocks and also a letter sent out to residents nearby who might hear explosions or noises like gunshots.
