KEY POINTS:
A teenager is in Waikato Hospital in critical condition after police said he was accidentally shot at his Hamilton home yesterday.
Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Page of Hamilton CIB said the 16-year-old boy was shot at a McIntosh St house in Fairfield shortly before 10.30am.
The circumstances of the shooting were still uncertain, he said.
"The investigation is focusing on establishing the events leading up to and after the shooting and where the firearm came from," said Mr Page.
Police would not reveal which type of firearm was used or where the boy suffered his wounds.
But a St John ambulance spokesman said he was taken to Waikato Hospital with a serious facial injury.
Yesterday the property where the shooting happened was guarded by an armed policeman as forensic teams continued their examination.
A neighbour, known only as "Peter", was enjoying a cup of tea and reading a book when he heard what was probably the gunshot.
"I didn't think anything of it," he said.
"We hear bangs like that around here all the time with cars backfiring and all of that ... this place probably isn't as safe as it used to be."
A woman was watching television when she heard the loud bang.
"And then I heard the mother screaming, she was hysterical," she said.
"Suddenly a lot of cops showed up, a few of them were carrying some pretty big guns ... it's just a worry that people on our street actually have guns."
The woman said she saw police taking what appeared to be the weapon away from the house.
Other neighbours said youths dressed in red - the colour associated with the Mongrel Mob or Bloods - would often congregate outside the house but they kept to themselves.
Mr Page said the boy would probably need surgery.
