'Stupidity' over shooting mate

A man has admitted his actions were "incredibly stupid and careless" when he accidentally shot his friend.

A Rotorua man who shot his friend acted with "incredible stupidity and carelessness", a court has been told.

However the victim says he holds no animosity towards his friend and they remain close companions.

Tui Hansen, 35, was sentenced in Rotorua District Court yesterday to three months' home detention after previously pleading guilty to causing bodily injury to a person by carelessly using a firearm and driving while disqualified.

He was also disqualified from driving for a further six months.

Last November Hansen and his friend Daryl Teddy went out to shoot possums using a cut down 12-gauge shotgun. The gun was loaded when the pair returned to the vehicle, a 2002 Toyota Hilux. The gun went off in the vehicle and Mr Teddy received wounds to his right hand and left elbow, as well as an injury to his forehead and face.

Mr Teddy said in a statement that he held no animosity towards his friend and was forgiving, saying he was "over it and what's done is done".

Hansen had previously admitted he had consumed a large amount of alcohol on the night of the incident and agreed alcohol abuse had played a significant role in his offending.

Judge Josephine Bouchier told him: "It has been said that this was an accident plain and simple but I would say bringing a loaded firearm into the vehicle is more than just an accident."