Six arrested after gang fight ends in shooting

Armed Offenders Squad members remain at the scene. File photo / Greg Bowker

Armed police remain on alert and six arrests have been made after a gang confrontation in Wairoa last night ended with a man being shot in the face.

A number of shots were apparently fired from a small calibre firearm in the fracas in a residential street in the northern Hawke's Bay town at about 10pm.

A 20-year-old man is in Hastings hospital after being hit in the face by a bullet.

Sergeant Aubrey Ormond said the wounded man was taken to hospital where bullet fragments were removed from his face.

His injuries are not life-threatening and he is expected to be discharged today.

Six arrests not directly related to the shooting have been made and inquiries are continuing to establish the identity of the people involved.

Armed police have remained in Wairoa this morning to keep the peace and defuse the situation.

Mr Ormond said about 12 people were involved in the confrontation but only the one man was hurt.

Police are looking to speak confidentially to any witnesses to the incident.

- NZPA