Armed police were seen at the cordon around a fatal shooting in Otara today. Photo / Sam Sword
Armed police were seen at the cordon around a fatal shooting in Otara today. Photo / Sam Sword
Witnesses have described dramatic scenes following a shooting police say they are investigating as a homicide.
A man who suffering a gunshot wound died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred outside a two-storey home in Piako St in Otara, South Auckland, just after 2.50pm. Police are tonight stillhunting for the person or persons responsible.
The shooting occurred almost directly opposite a self-service laundromat, takeaway shop and dairy, and a woman working in one of the shops told the Herald she didn't hear any gunshots.
But she realised something was wrong when she heard an ambulance arrive.
Looking outside, she saw a police officer doing chest compressions on the man.
He couldn't see the man who had been shot, as people were already crowding around him, he said.
A police cordon, guarded by an armed officer, at the scene included not only the property where the man died but a large section of the road surface.
It was still in place early evening, as officers from half a dozen police cars remained at the scene, along with an ambulance crew.
Earlier, children from nearby Flat Bush School and Flat Bush Kindergarten were briefly placed in lockdown.
By dusk, only a few neighbours were milling around quietly, and those spoken to by the Herald expressed surprise at the violence incident in their street. None knew the man killed in the shooting.
One woman said she had lived in the area for 10 years and it was "not a bad street".
"I'm really shocked. I like it around here and I feel pretty safe. I'm hoping it's a one-off."
Police at the scene of a fatal shooting in Piako St, Otara, this afternoon. Photo / Sam Sword
Acting Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said tonight police were working hard to identify those responsible.
