Northcote shooting: Aunt tells of horror after 'gentle' teen shot in face

The aunt of an Auckland teen shot in the face believes her "gentle nephew" was fired at from a car while playing basketball with other kids.

The aunt has taken to social media to provide an account of the shooting in Northcote about 7pm on Friday.

Her nephew is in a stable condition in Auckland Hospital today but may lose the sight in his left eye.

The aunt says her 16-year-old nephew was at a basketball court in Cadness St when a car drove past and shot "blindly into a group of people".

"He was at our local basketball court with friends when it happened. Imagine your kid going to the local park then being told they'd been shot," she said.

"It was my harmless, gentle nephew, my Choppas. I called my sister and could hear the rage in her voice. She was already on her way to the hospital to be by her baby."

The boy's mother also took to Facebook earlier today to report that doctors had said her son had likely lost sight in his left eye.

The mother said her son was lying with: "Shotgun shrapnel in the hospital. And he might be blind in both eyes. We know the left one for sure, time will tell if he'd blind in the right one."

Police said this afternoon no arrests had been made at this stage.

A cordon has now been lifted after it was set up at the College Rd and Cadness St intersection yesterday and remained overnight.

The teen was at the basketball courts when the shooting took place, his aunt says. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The aunt of the teen took to social media to dispute claims that the incident involved gangs and lamented "an innocent 16-year-old is laying in hospital".

Police said they received calls yesterday evening from members of the public saying they heard "multiple gun shots".

Police said the teenager was taken to North Shore Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, before being transferred to Auckland Hospital where he now remains in a stable condition.

Initial inquiries indicate a large number of youths were at the reserve earlier in the evening.

Family members say the incident happened at a local basketball court where he was playing with friends.