To be attributed to Inspector Danny Kirk, Tairāwhiti Area Commander:
Tairāwhiti Police have arrested and charged four people following two firearms-related incidents overnight.
At around 11.45pm yesterday, Police were called to Taruheru Crescent in Mangapapa, following a report of several shots being fired towards a house from a car.
The occupants of the same car then fired one or two shots at an occupied vehicle in Valley Road, Mangapapa.
Police located the car in Lytton Road and signalled the driver to stop, however he failed to do so.
Police pursued the car through the Elgin area, before stopping it near the intersection of Awapuni Road and Lytton Road.
The four occupants of the car - males aged 15, 16, 28 and 36 - have been charged with discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Further charges are likely as our investigation into these incidents continue.
Police have also seized a firearm and other items which the car's occupants threw from the car as they were being pursued by Police.
My message to all involved in this kind of offending is that this has to stop. Two people were injured as a result of the shots fired at the house - one seriously - and we could very easily have been dealing with one or more fatalities.
I want to acknowledge my frontline officers, who made a conscious decision to put themselves in harm's way to apprehend those involved in this senseless violence. And I also want to acknowledge our investigators who work tirelessly to ensure that Police can put these people before the Court and hold them accountable for their actions.
The four males arrested will be appearing in Gisborne District Court tomorrow.
