Red Hill gang house drive-by shooting: Auckland police reportedly find 44 bullet casings in driveway

Fears over gun violence and gang turf wars are on the rise in Auckland. Photo / File

Officers investigating a suspected Auckland gang house drive-by shooting told a local they had found 44 bullet casings on the driveway, he says.

Police were called around 7.45pm to reports that a firearm had been discharged in the direction of a residential property on Brooke Rd in the South Auckland suburb of Red Hill.

"We have staff speaking to people in the immediate area and can confirm nobody has been injured," a spokeswoman said.

Local Dr Urie Bezuidenhout was at home when he heard unusual sounds, "like a loud zipper sound – that is my best description".

The former South African military member said to his wife it was unusual and looked outside but couldn't see anything.

He thought the sound only last for 3-5 seconds – and felt it was "too fast for a conventional firearm".

Around 15 minutes later, a neighbour texted to say there had been a shooting on Brooke Rd nearby.

Bezuidenhout investigated and saw a lot of people with what looked like phone flashlights. The police Eagle helicopter hovered overhead for a short time, he said.

He spoke with a police officer who said they had found 44 bullet casings on the targeted property's driveway, which locals believe was gang-affiliated.

The house had been "peppered with bullet holes", Bezuidenhout says he was told by the police officer.

Bezuidenhout was surprised at the police response, saying they had left the scene after just a few hours.

"I'd really like to know if they think their response was proportionate," he told the Herald.

"This is so unusual and if it bears out that different weapons were used, then they need to be a bit more responsive and not so flippant about it."

Gun violence and gang wars have plagued the streets of West and South Auckland over the past year.

Hundreds of shooting victims have been hospitalised across Auckland as the number of firearms in circulation grows.

Figures released exclusively to the Herald late last year by Auckland's three district health boards showed the city's hospitals had treated nearly 350 patients for firearms injuries since January 2016.

Police say they have zero tolerance for gun violence, while Auckland mayor Phil Goff said recent shootings and gang-related crime were "completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated".

Last month, a house in the West Auckland suburb of Te Atatū was shot up at night when a number of people were inside.

On Friday, three men were arrested seven months after a shooting in Mt Roskill, Auckland seriously injured one person.

And in November, the Herald reported that a family with young children who miraculously dodged more than 20 bullets fired at their house had fled Māngere East out of fear for their safety.