A south Auckland farmer, who shot his mate instead of a water buffalo he was trying to kill, may not know for weeks if he will face charges.
Four men were trying to shoot two water buffalo which escaped as they were being loaded onto a truck at Buckland, 5km south of Pukekohe on Tuesday.
One farmer fired a shot which went through the roof of a ute where another farmer was seated, hitting him in the head.
The victim remained in a critical but stable condition in Middlemore Hospital this morning.
Police said the shooter initially told them a bullet ricocheted from a tree and went through the roof of the ute, hitting the victim in the back of the head.
Police now believe that did not happen and the victim was shot by one of the men who fired his rifle through the ute roof.
Senior Sergeant Rob Arnold said forensic scientists were still trying to establish the path of the bullet but it appeared the shooting was accidental.
He said the gunman used a rifle with a telescopic sight and used the roof of the ute for support.
"With a telescopic rifle the picture you are getting in your scope may not be what is actually happening with the weapon in the first metre and that appears to be what happened." He said the shooter was a tall man and was shooting down into a gully.
"It is certainly unusual but there is nothing sinister we believe at this stage." He said the men genuinely believed the bullet ricocheted and did not appear to have made up the story of the shooting.
"One of their mates had been shot and they were in shock.
"Their immediate concern has been for the victim." Mr Arnold said several reports were still being sought and a decision on charges was still weeks away.
Police later shot and killed both animals.
