Man arrested after nail gun attack

A couple of smashed up cars and a small police presence on a Mt Albert street are the only signs of the fight that ended with an Auckland man being shot with a nail gun early this morning.

One man has been arrested in relation to the altercation, while another was taken to hospital in a critical condition before undergoing surgery.

Police said the events unfolded shortly after 3am on Hendon Ave.

Outside the house believed to be at the centre of the investigation is a blue BMW sedan with smashed windows, and a dirty cloth covers it.

At the kerb sits a Paradise takeaways car that has also had its front and side windows smashed.

A young girl, who was walking with her grandmother along the road, told the Herald they were awoken by an "old man".

She said outside their house, which was about four houses down from where it's believed the incident unfolded, she could hear someone say "shoot".

"The old man asked us to call police," she said.

"I heard this man telling someone to shoot.

"The old man said they were drinking and then someone got a wood and was smacking him."

The young girl thought there might have been two younger men fighting outside but she wasn't sure.

She said she hadn't seen anything as they'd waited inside with the older man until the police came.

People living in the house said police had visited and they were therefore not permitted to make any comment.

One of the neighbours said it wasn't the first time they'd heard the sounds of fighting coming from the house,  but he said it was the first time they'd brought it out on the streets.

The man, who lived with his wife and son on a nearby property, said he was woken up by the noise at about 3:30 this morning.

He saw three men and two or three women on the streets shouting.

"One older man had a nail gun," he said. "The young man was beating the old man with a stick.

"Then they hit my car with a stick."

It was at that point he called police.

He said his family didn't get much sleep after the incident and only managed to get back to bed at 6:30am after the police left.

His wife said people outside the property appeared drunk.

She said it was pretty scary but was happy that her family was safe.

Her husband said their car was insured.

A police officer at the scene said the injured man had since been discharged from hospital with moderate injuries.