According to his aunt, the gunman drove past and shot "blindly into a group of people".
Today his sister has revealed the facial wounds suffered in the attack are so bad it has robbed him of a "bright future".
It meant chances of holding down a regular job or driving a car were now gone.
"He's suffered injuries that will change his life and cause a lot of challenges while he adjusts," she wrote.
"He's blind in one eye and there's damage to his right eye as well."
She said the injuries would profoundly impact on her younger brother's future.
"My brother's the most humble, kind-hearted and selfless person I know.
"He's a good kid with a bright future ahead of him. He still goes to school, has his driver's licence and has a job but due to his injuries he'll most likely never drive or work again so we'd appreciate any help that we can get," she posted.
Rota said the money would be used to make her brother's life easier once he was discharged from hospital.
Within the first few hours, nearly $600 had been donated to the family.
Earlier, his aunt wrote a harrowing account of the shooting on social media.
"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."
Police said they received calls from members of the public saying they heard "multiple gun shots".
Waitematā CIB detective senior sergeant Kim Libby said police were following positive lines of inquiry into the matter.
Libby said inquiries to date indicated that the parties involved were known to each other.
Police made a fresh appeal for information from those who may have seen and recorded the incident unfold.
An online portal had been created for any photos or video footage capturing the incident.
"We would still like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident occur on Friday night and haven't spoken with police," said Libby.
Since Friday police had put extra patrols into the wider Northcote area to provide reassurance to the community.
Anyone with information could contact police on 105 quoting the file number 210226/7291 or upload footage to https://cassidy.nzpolice.org.
