Two 15-year-old boys and two young men have appeared in court in relation to a burglary during which a dog was shot.
The 15-year-olds appeared in the Whakatane Youth Court charged with burglary and shooting a dog.
Sergeant Yvonne Parker, of the Whakatane police, said the boys were charged following an armed offenders call-out in Taneatua last weekend after guns were allegedly stolen from a rural home.
The burglary victim's dog was allegedly shot in the face the same day.
The day after the burglary, the armed offenders squad was called to help police search a property.