The shootings of South Auckland: Injury in Ōtara follows earlier gun violence in troubled city suburbs

Another day, another instance of mindless violence in a South Auckland suburb.

Again, it was in the suburb of Ōtara, where three people have been shot in the last three months, one — 23-year-old Joseph Siaosi, 23, dying on the lawn in front of the family home in Piako St after he was fatally shot by an occupant of a car as he walked away from a confrontation.

Late this afternoon, police were told a man had suffered life-threatening injuries after he was shot in the leg at a Billington Ave property described by neighbours as being occupied by gang members.

Another two have been shot in neighbouring Clover Park since April 20, where a third person also had to take cover just two weeks after the shooting death of Siaosi Tulua at his Darnell Cres, Clover Park, home when a man carrying a firearm walked up Palermo Pl firing shots.

And the violence extends to Māngere, where on March 13, Arthur (Afa) Brown, 26, was fatally shot outside a group of shops on Vine St just before 1am.

Eight weeks later the president of the Killer Beez gang, Josh Masters, was shot at a Harley Davidson store in Mt Wellington. Masters was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Joshua James Masters, pictured in court in 2012.

Fewer than five months, seven shootings, three dead, three critically injured — including a 16-year-old boy — a woman seriously injured, eight men aged between 17 and 39 facing charges ranging from wounding to murder, and an unknown number of families looking for a new place to live because they don't feel safe.

Among them a mum in Billington Ave tonight who, sheltering from the rain in a car with her daughter and baby granddaughter while watching police officers, some armed with Bushmaster rifles, guard the scene a few doors away.

"We're not safe here", she said, as her teenage daughters remarked on the frequent fights and weekly police visits to the property where the shooting occurred.

Her next conversation would be with Housing New Zealand, the woman said, with a request for a move away from the neighbourhood.

Another neighbour was also planning a move — he's filling out forms for a Welcome Home loan so he and his partner can use their KiwiSaver to buy their first home, and move their children away from Ōtara.

He grew up in the suburb, and felt safe, but had decided to send his children to schools outside the area.

Police at the Billington Ave, Otara, scene following tonight's shooting. Photo / Dean Purcell

The residents of the property, understood to be owned by Housing NZ, where the shooting took place were affiliated with both the Killer Beez and Black Power and fights, parties and "ruckus" were common.

"For us (the shooting) is nothing new, but we changed our kids' lifestyle and took them out for school. There's nothing wrong with the schools here, it's just the lifestyle the kids are running in. We're just trying to give them the best options we can."

Next year, his daughter will begin a degree — probably in psychology — at Victoria University, he said.

The frightening sequence of violence in the three South Auckland suburbs and nearby Mt Wellington has rocked the community in recent months, sparking calls for police to crackdown on rising gang tensions.

The flurry of violence followed earlier troubles in South Auckland, with Auckland mayor Phil Goff telling Morning Report in May about a dozen shootings had occurred in South Auckland within a year, most gang and drug related.

At a public meeting last month to address a rise in gun violence in South Auckland, Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina, a former police officer, said the level of violence was among the worst he had seen in 60 years living in the area.

Police at the scene of a fatal shooting in Piako Street, Otara, in May. Photo / Sam Sword

Cuts to the number of youth workers in the area needed to be reversed, he said.
Tonight, Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chairwoman Lotu Fuli called on people to tell police if friends and family had illegal guns.

"We know there are guns out there and we know the Government has moved very quickly in terms of gun laws ... people know if their friends and family have got guns. The police can't do it on their own and it will take a concerted effort by the community and the police as well."

People were more worried about the threat of gun violence in South Auckland, but that was also related to the gun attacks on Christchurch mosques in March.

"I think we sort of lived with sense of security being in New Zealand and we just didn't think that sort of thing happened here ... I think people in general are just a lot more wary.

"We're just seeing a lot more people able to access guns, which wasn't the case in the past, and that's only been in the last three years I'd say, or even more recently than that. So that's certainly a worry to the community."

*Police urged anyone with information on the Billington Ave incident to contact Counties Manukau Police on 09 261 1321 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

FIVE MONTHS OF VIOLENCE

• On August 9, a man suffered life-threatening injuries after a shooting in Billington Ave, Ōtara.

• On July 26, a 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital in a critical condition after a shooting on Featherston Cres, Otara. A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with wounding.

• On July 6, a woman suffered serious injuries after being shot at a property on Dawson Rd, Clover Park. Two young men, aged 17 and 20, were charged with wounding.

• On May 17, Joseph Siaosi, 23, was fatally shot by an occupant of a car as he walked away from a confrontation. Siaosi died on the lawn in front of the family home in Piako St, Ōtara. Tamati Kas Simpson, 21, and Montana Manu, 22, have been charged with his murder.

• On April 26, the president of the Killer Beez gang, Josh Masters, was shot at a Harley Davidson store in Mt Wellington. Masters was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

A 39-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted murder in relation to the shooting.

• On April 20, Siaosi Tulua, 39, was shot dead at his home on Darnell Cres, in Clover Park. A 22-year-old has been charged with his murder. His death came two weeks after a resident in the Palermo Pl area of Clover Park had to take cover when a man carrying a firearm walked up the street firing shots.

• On March 13, Arthur (Afa) Brown, 26, was fatally shot outside a group of shops on Vine St in Māngere just before 1am. A 20-year-old male has pleaded not guilty to murder.