A Manurewa councillor is calling for calm in the community after a 14-year-old boy was apparently shot dead last night -- the latest in a string of violent incidents in south Auckland.
The boy was found dead at a house in the Manurewa suburb of Weymouth after his mother called emergency services around 9pm to say he had been shot in the head.
Investigation head Detective Inspector John Tims today refused to confirm that the boy had been shot, saying that they were awaiting the results of a post mortem being carried out today.
He said there were a number of people in the house at the time of the incident but would not say if a party was in progress.
He would also not say if any weapon had been recovered.
Family and witnesses were taken to Manurewa police station for questioning last night and a forensic examination of the house continued today.
Daniel Newman, who represents Manurewa on the Manukau City Council, today appealed to residents to remain calm and keep things in context.
"I am anxious that we may be facing another situation where an innocent person is the victim of a violent crime," he said .
"For the residents and neighbourhoods that comprise the Manurewa community, this prospect is doubly concerning.
"As a community we simply do not need the bad profile associated with this kind of incident, because it diminishes the reputation of a place that is home to over 80,000 people, the vast majority of whom are good law-abiding folk."
Mr Newman visited the street where the attack happened and said he knew the people who lived there and would be working with the community to do everything possible to make it a safe place.
"By any measure the residents of Weymouth constantly make every effort to ensure that their neighbourhood is safe.
"Notwithstanding the worrying prospect of the outcome of (last) night's incident, Weymouth will remain a great place to live, both now and in the future," Mr Newman said.
One man, who lived about 100m from the house, told The New Zealand Herald police had been to his door taking occupants' details and vehicle registrations.
"They just said a boy was shot in the head..."
Another man said he believed his daughter knew the boy who had been killed, and had attended intermediate school with him last year.
"She is probably going to be pretty upset."
The man said he was asleep when the drama unfolded, and was woken by the sound of car doors slamming.
"I came outside and there were ambulances and cops galore."
Last night's homicide is the latest in a series of violent incidents in south Auckland.
Liquor store owner Navtej Singh died a day after being shot by armed robbers in the Randwick Park area of Manurewa on June 7.
Eighty-year-old Yan Ping Yang died three days after she was attacked by an intruder in her Manurewa home on June 11.
And Joanne Wang, 39, died after she was hit by a car driven by a man who snatched her handbag on June 16 in the Manukau shopping centre.
