Police consider shooting and fire link

Police are investigating whether a house fire in Levin last night is linked to a shooting in Foxton last week.

Police were called to 25 Kinross Street around 10.30pm to find a house well ablaze. The occupants were not home at the time and the house was badly damaged.

Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said there had been speculation in local media that the blaze was somehow linked to the shooting of Nomads gang associate Tony Cootes.

Mr Cootes was wounded in the leg while attending the funeral of his stepfather, high profile gang leader Dennis Hines, in Foxton on Thursday.

Police and fire safety officers were this morning inspecting the scene of the fire and Detective Senior Sergeant Marc Hercock, who is leading the shooting investigation, said it was too early to determine any links with the shooting.

"(The fire) is a serious incident in its own right and is being investigated as such."

If the fire was proved to be linked to the shooting, it would be incorporated into the existing investigation, he said.

- NZPA