Teenager recovering after gun accident

File photo / Herald on Sunday

A teenage girl is recovering in hospital after being shot in the abdomen in Rolleston.

It is understood the bullet passed through a garage wall and struck the 15-year-old at about 11.45pm on Monday.

Rolleston police were reluctant to give details about the shooting. Constable Hamish Chapman said inquiries were "ongoing" but confirmed police were not looking for anyone.

He refused to say if that meant police knew who the shooter was, although the shooting was believed to be accidental.

St John Ambulance personnel waited near the house, in Fairfield Way, until police declared the scene was safe to enter.

A spokesman said that was standard procedure for incidents involving firearms.

Dawn Conovan, who lives on Fairfield Way, said she was shocked to hear about the shooting. No one in the street knew much about what had happened, except from what they heard from media reports, she said.

"I was incredibly surprised ... it's not like this is a bad neighbourhood so that sort of thing has never happened around here before."

The girl was in a stable condition at Christchurch Hospital last night.

The incident comes after a series of accidental shootings recently.

In January a 20-year-old woman was killed when she was allegedly shot by a 15-year-old friend in Okaihau, in the Far North.

Both had been at a social gathering at the house when the shooting happened and prompted a plea by police for care to be taken when handling firearms.

- staff reporter