Emergency services scrambled to Featherston on Saturday afternoon, after reports a gun had been fired at a car as it was driven out of the supermarket car park. Photo: Google Maps
Two men have been jointly charged with murder after the death of a man in Wairarapa Saturday in a daylight shooting.
The men, aged 23 and 25, are due to appear in Wellington District Court tomorrow.
A man died on Saturday after he was found in a vehicle with a gunshot wound. The discovery came following a report of a shot or shots fired at a vehicle as it was driven out of a supermarket in the Wairarapa town of Featherston, sending emergency services rushing to the site, about 4pm that day.
Police said on Sunday night that the men may face further charges.
"Our investigation continues, with one focus being to establish what other parties may have been involved in the incident," Detective Inspector John van den Heuvel said.
"We can however say that police believe it involved parties known to each other, with no ongoing risk to the public."
On Saturday, police shut down three different sections of State Highway 2 - in Featherston, Carterton and in Upper Hutt's Kaitoke (on the other side of the Remutaka Hill road), before police closed in on another vehicle, and arrested two men.
Local MP condemns violence
The deadly daylight shooting in Wairarapa is "abhorrent", but the community will pull together, a local MP says.
National Party MP for Wairarapa Mike Butterick said the community was "appalled" by the "unacceptable" violence in a busy public place.
"There were multiple shots fired in Featherston. It was on a Saturday - there was plenty of people about - and we're just extremely lucky that there wasn't other harms or fatalities caused," Butterick said.
Police did not believe the shooting was a random event, Butterick said, but he could not confirm whether it was gang related.
Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick, farms sheep and beef near Masterton. Photo: Supplied/ National Party - Hagen Hopkins
"It's hard to put into words, right? It's abhorrent, it's completely unacceptable and - you know - pull your bloody heads in and how about thinking about being a good citizen and contributing to your community, because that's a far better thing to do," Butterick said.
The community has had a tough time recently, with a string of arsons at local churches, on 22 February, and a fatal crash between a vehicle and a four person rental bike in Martinborough, on 13 March.
"We're a very strong community. We rally around each other in times like this," Butterick said.
"It has been tough, but those things don't define us. They don't define who we are. It's a pretty special part of New Zealand - its got a lot going for it - and it's just unfortunate that we seem to have these things happen from time to time."
Police said people in Wairarapa should expect to see more officers out and about in the community in the coming days, as the events surrounding the man's death are investigated.
Carterton mayor Ron Mark earlier told RNZ that police believe the shooting was targeted, and there was no wider public threat, though he said it was understandable residents would find the incident alarming.
Police have said they believe there are people who know more about the events surrounding Saturday's shooting, and want to hear from anyone who knows more, or who witnessed what happened and has not yet spoken to them.
Anyone with information was asked to contact police by calling 105 or via their Update Report page online, at 105.police.govt.nz, and to quote the reference 250322/8281 and 'Operation Ascot'.
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