Horowhenua’s mayor says the recent spate of gang shootings is “causing some real concern” among residents who are worried about ongoing criminal behaviour.
It comes after a Gang Conflict Warrant was put in place for Ōtaki, Shannon, Foxton and Levin after four gang shootings in three days.
A Gang Conflict Warrant gives police more powers to search vehicles without a warrant.
By Saturday evening, they had seized four guns and a large knife.
Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden said people were still feeling anxious, and he hoped things would be resolved quickly.
“Obviously, we get isolated incidents every now and then, but this continuing behaviour and the number of times firearms have been involved, is obviously causing some real concern.”
Wanden said the fact there had been many connected shootings was most worrying.
But he said seeing more officers on the streets was reassuring for Levin residents, and showed police were being “very active” in their response.
“Vehicles and policemen are more obvious than ever,” he said.
“From what I understand there’s three times the normal resource being put into the town at the moment.”
Earlier, Wanden told RNZ the shootings were understood to be connected to tensions within a gang.
Police said both Mongrel Mob and Nomads were known to be present in Levin.
Manawatū area commander inspector Ross Grantham said on Thursday police stopped and searched a vehicle and found a firearm, and then found another in the car owner’s home.
On Friday morning they stopped another vehicle and found two firearms, he said.
“Some time later another vehicle was stopped where police found a large knife.”
He said they were also making enquiries into drug importation and dealing.
“Everyone in our community has a right to go about their day without fear,” Grantham said.
Horowhenua district makes up the south end of the Manawatū region, sitting just north of the Wellington region boundary, and Levin is Horowhenua’s largest town, where the district council is based.
rnz.co.nz
