The latest shooting in Northland is not a random attack: police

Two men sitting in a car on the side of a Northland highway who were shot and wounded over the weekend were attacked by people with whom they were linked, police say.

Northland Police Area Investigations Manager Detective Sergeant Major Mark Dalzell said investigations were continuing after the couple suffered gunshot wounds in an incident at Lake Ohia in the far north Saturday morning.

But he has ruled out any link to the Puketona shooting, where two men fired at a police car, hardly losing a female officer. Those men keep running.

Dalzell said the couple in a vehicle were injured in the shooting, which occurred on the side of the road at the intersection of Inland and Lake Ohia Rds around 1.30 a.m.

He said the wounded men were taken to hospital, however they had since been discharged.

Police were now working to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the nightly shooting in an effort to identify the occupants in the second vehicle that shot the victims.

Dalzell reassured the public, saying he believed the victims and assailants were linked, and the occupants of the second vehicle pointed at the injured couple.

“We want to assure the community that this is not believed to be a random attack,” Dalzell said.

“There are many people who know exactly what has happened, and we urge them to do the right thing and to contact the police.”

He said the police had no information to suggest that this incident was related to the firearms incident in Puketona, where a police officer was shot.

“We know that there is some concern in the community about the two recent firearm incidents in Northland.

“I want to assure the public that we are working hard to investigate both issues.

“Any firearms incident is unacceptable and the police take these matters seriously. We will continue to work hard to identify those responsible so they can be held accountable,” Dalzell said.

Anyone with information should contact Kaitaia Police at 105, quoting file number 201107/9132, or Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.