Teens charged after airgun driveby shooting spree

Two 17-year-olds have been arrested after cruising from town to town in Wairarapa on Wednesday, firing at passers-by with an air gun.

Police caught up with them in Carterton late in the afternoon.

The alarm was raised by a 45-year-old cyclist who flagged down a patrol car after he was hit by a pellet while riding his bicycle.

The man gave police a description of the offenders, who had also been firing at people near the Lakeview Dairy on Te Ore Ore Road, Masterton.

The two 17-year-olds, one from Masterton and the other of Greytown, were seen by police officers from the Tactical Alcohol Group around 3.45pm firing the weapon at a man on High Street, Carterton.

The two men were interviewed and arrested.

They told police they had also shot a man in his 40s on East Street in Greytown, police said. Officers would like to hear from that Greytown victim, and anyone else who may have been shot at with an airgun between 8.30am and 3.45pm on Wednesday.

One of the shooters is facing a raft of firearms-related charges including discharging a firearm with reckless disregard for public safety, unlawful carriage of a firearm, discharging an airgun in a public place endangering property, and unlawfully presenting an air gun.

He appeared in Masterton District Court yesterday.

The other offender has been bailed and is likely to face similar charges.

- WAIRARAPA TIMES-AGE