KEY POINTS:
Road rage is being blamed for an attack in which a man was shot in the face and arm, then beaten with the gun.
The 32-year-old was shot on Eruera St in the centre of Rotorua about 9.45pm on Thursday, after the driver of a white stationwagon appeared to have been angered by his driving.
The man was not available yesterday to talk about his ordeal, but his parents described the injuries inflicted on their son.
The Weekend Herald has chosen not to identify the man or his family, because police have warned that the gunman is dangerous.
One round tore into the right side of the victim's face, coming out near his right earlobe. Another went through his left arm.
The shots are believed to have been fired from a powerful air pistol.
The father told the Weekend Herald he had been up all night comforting his wife, who was often in tears because of the assault.
He had visited his son in Rotorua Hospital.
"He seems to be all right," he said. "He's not deaf, but he's having a few problems eating. He had to have smoothies for lunch.
"He [the gunman] shot him and couldn't take him down, but when he went over, the fella must have whacked him with the pistol."
The father said his 17-year-old grandson was with his son at the time.
The enraged driver threw his son against the car bonnet.
"The next thing my grandson heard was bang, bang, bang," he said.
"He got a hell of a fright ... He wanted to run but saw his uncle leaning over, so he shot over and apparently the joker was whacking him with the pistol with his missus shouting at him to get the hell out of there.
"When the fella took off, he [the victim] yelled at my grandson, 'Take the number plate'."
A friend of the victim told the Herald the man had been going into town to do tiling at a health centre.
He had apparently been going to take his 2-week-old daughter with him, but decided not to after the infant started "niggling".
The attack happened when he arrived at the centre in Eruera St.
"A man just came up to him and said, "Hey, mate, is this your truck?" said the friend.
"Then he started punching ... It was just so random."
As the scuffle continued, the man pulled out an air pistol and fired.
Neighbours in the area said they heard a "bang" about the time of the attack, but all mistook the noise for fireworks.
The gunman fled in his vehicle soon after firing the shots.
Trying to stem the flow of blood with paper towels, the hurt worker rushed to the nearby police station.
"He thought this man could show up at a chip shop or something," the friend said.
The tiler was later admitted to hospital, then discharged. He went back there briefly yesterday.
Detective Sergeant John Wilson of Rotorua CIB said the police were disturbed by the attack, which he described as a "random, senseless act of violence".
"The worst feature of this whole thing is the randomness of it, because the person who's been assaulted could have been anybody."
Police yesterday did not know what type of pistol was used in the attack.
"It doesn't matter what it is - the guy's been shot in the face," Mr Wilson said.
"Whether it's an air pistol or whether it's a firearm, it really makes no difference.
"He's a very lucky man. If you're shot in the face with any sort of firearm, it's obviously terribly serious."
The gunman is described as bald, of solid-to-fat build and aged 40 to 50.
He had a goatee beard, was about 175cm tall and was driving a white Japanese station wagon.
Additional reporting: Beck Vass
