Community Constable Bruce Dow, of Oamaru, on SH8 near the
Omarama Stream bridge where a cyclist was allegedly shot at
from two cars on Sunday. Photo by Ben Guild.
A cyclist has told police he was shot at from two
vehicles near Omarama on Sunday afternoon.
Community Constable Bruce Dow, of Oamaru, said the rider
reported the incident happened on the 400m stretch of SH8
between Broken Hut Rd and the Omarama Stream Bridge, near
Omarama.
The cyclist, in his early 60s, who declined to be named,
yesterday told the Otago Daily Times he had turned
right from Broken Hut Rd on to SH8 towards Omarama about
5.15pm, when two vehicles overtook him at speeds of between
70-80kmh.
He said a passenger in the first vehicle, a black Mitsubishi
Lancer, fired two shots, which were followed by a further
shot from the trailing off-white Toyota Hiace van.
The man was taken aback as he heard the bullets fly past.
"I just couldn't believe that someone was shooting at me," he
said. "It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had.
The man had dropped his head to use his helmet for protection
from the bullets, then saw a volley of shots fired from the
vehicles into trees at the Omarama Top Ten Holiday Park.
"I could hear the shots shredding the leaves of the trees -
it was serious stuff," he said.
Const Dow said the man held a firearms licence and knew the
difference between a "shotgun bang, a rifle crack and the
sound of an air-rifle" - and believed the weapon involved to
be a rifle.
After being fired upon, the man rode the short distance to
Omarama, where he rang police about 5.30pm with the details
of the black Mitsubishi, which he had spotted stopped at the
town's Mobil garage.
He said he would do things differently next time.
"I wasn't thinking clearly enough. I had a cellphone in my
pocket, I could have taken a photo," he said.
"They saw me and that made them bugger off, I'd say."
Const Dow said the Mitsubishi left Omarama for Twizel, where
it was stopped by police and searched. No weapon was found
and those questioned denied any knowledge of the incident or
association with the occupants of the off-white van.
Inquiries are continuing, and anyone with information about
the van is encouraged to contact police.
The man said he wanted justice to be done.
"I'd obviously like them caught - they're just a menace to
society."
- ben.guild@odt.co.nz
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