NZ at Noon: Agrodome killings, gay marriage and Andre Agassi

Agrodome general manager Grant Kilby says staff are saddened and disturbed after someone shot and killed three prize sheep on the property. Photo / Ben Fraser

Stories making headlines across New Zealand at noon include three of Agrodome's stars being shot dead, legalising gay marriage will apparently increase the crime rate and tennis legend Andre Agassi is in the country.

Staff at popular Rotorua tourist destination the Agrodome are in shock after three of their prize show animals were gunned down in a random attack.

Apparently legalising gay marriage could increase crime.

Tennis legend Andre Agassi is in Auckland!

Eight people were taken to hospital after a man allegedly in a stolen car crashed into another vehicle containing six people near where a police patrol had stopped.

The nerve centre of Kim Dotcom's latest venture, Mega, will be in Napier.

Buried in the soil beneath the floor of the St George's Anglican Church is the blood of Maori and British soldiers who fought in one of the most vicious battles of colonial New Zealand - the Battle of Gate Pa.

The watchmaker's trade is going the way of the farrier and the blacksmith.

Taramakau Bridge contractors have been told to cease work after workers were videoed dumping unknown reddish-coloured material into the river.

Coal, presumably lost in 1887 when the ship Northumberland was wrecked, still washes ashore at Bay View in Hawke's Bay.

Top trending topics on Twitter in NZ at Noon were: Mega, New Zealand, Auckland, Wellington, #janoskiansroadtrip, #SpamWar, #SYDvNIX, #megalaunch, #followmeash and Kim Dotcom.

Other stories making headlines across New Zealand this morning:

Kenyan bus crash: Victims expected home today

Rotorua store sells Winning Wheel ticket two weeks in a row

'Tragedy' if vintage rail access is lost

Age no barrier to trampoline injuries

One dead after crash near Northern Motorway

Blind, partially blind Japanese hikers inspire on Great Walk

Floozie Suzie to bring our shady past to light

- nzherald.co.nz