Police say it will be several days before they know the events that led up to the deaths of two people in Rotorua yesterday.
Police armed offenders squad (AOS) members found a 31-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man shot dead in a Sunset Road property in suburban Fordlands yesterday afternoon. A rifle was found nearby.
Police were not looking for anyone else at this stage, Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper said.
However, the inquiry was still at a very early stage and it was likely to be days before police had established a clear picture of the events that led to the deaths, he said in a statement today.
Police received a report that two people had been shot about 4.40pm and cordoned off the area.
AOS officers cleared the house and found the pair, who knew each other, lying outside the house with a rifle near them, Mr Loper said.
Post mortem results were not expected until early next week.
Names of the dead were not yet being released because police were still contacting family members, he said.
Police were currently locating and speaking to witnesses, carrying out a forensic examination of the crime scene and investigating the neighbourhood around the house, he said.
Neighbours told the New Zealand Herald they heard a man yelling "I didn't mean to hurt anyone" shortly before the bodies were found.
One resident said he had saw a little boy standing near the man.
