Far North mayor Moko Tepania said the community is reeling after the “terrible” and “scary” news of a woman’s death in Kaikohe.
Police have launched a homicide investigation.
Tepania told the Herald it was terrible news to wake up to.
“It is a little bit scary, to be honest. I live in Kaikohe myself, it is my home. We have a very close-knit community, obviously, residents will be reeling as I am from this incident.
“I want to share my condolences to the whānau and I want to send my aroha to everyone.”
“I want to add if anyone in the community is feeling affected by this incident to reach out and seek support. This is not something anyone wants to happen in their home.”
Officers responded to reports of an intruder at a Taraire St property around 11.30pm, a police spokesperson said.
“A struggle between the occupants and the intruder has resulted in one of the occupants being seriously injured.
“Sadly, despite efforts from emergency services, the victim has died at the scene.”
Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston of Northland CIB said police officers had been working to establish exactly what occurred, and had been speaking to a number of witnesses overnight to identify and locate the person who left the scene prior to their arrival.
“At this stage, no arrests have been made.”
Johnston said he acknowledged this was a “tragic incident” which would have shaken the community.
“We know residents will be waking up this morning to this shocking news and we want to reassure them our inquiries are well under way to locate the person responsible and hold them to account for their actions.
“We would like to hear from anyone who may have been in the area overnight and saw something, or someone, which may assist us with our inquiries.”
A further update would be provided when it became available, he said.