A farmer is in a stable condition in the intensive care unit at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital today after he was shot in the head in a freak accident.
The man in his 60s was sitting in the back of a ute when his companions shot at a water buffalo which had escaped from a paddock in the rural community of Buckland, 5km south of Pukekohe.
The bullet ricocheted off a tree, went through the roof of the ute and hit the farmer in the back of the head.
He was taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital where he had surgery last night and was today reported to be in a stable but critical condition.
The freak accident happened as four men tried to shoot dead two water buffalo which escaped as they were being loaded onto a truck in Harrisville Rd, Buckland.
The beasts had ran amok on Monday, crashing through fences with one escaping on to the road causing a minor accident.
Police said the men were worried the buffalo were dangerous and could cause more damage.
The men went looking for the animals yesterday and found them in a paddock.
Two men got out of the ute and one fired a shot which hit one of the buffalo but did not kill it.
He fired again but the bullet struck a tree before ricocheting through the roof of the ute and hitting the farmer.
The wounded buffalo was later shot dead by a police officer but the second buffalo was still being sought today.
Police seized the rifle the men used but said it was too early to say if charges would be laid.
Initial inquiries appeared to show it was a tragic and freaky accident, a police spokesman said.