A Lower Hutt mother is “traumatised” and struggling to understand why her home was targeted in a late-night shooting while she and her daughter were upstairs.
Ashleigh Clarke had only recently moved into the Kāinga Ora property on Cambridge Terrace in Naenae when, around 9.30pm on Saturday, she heard “two loud bangs”.
She told 1News it did not even cross her mind that the bangs could be gunshots.
“I was looking for a person because it doesn’t happen here, you’re more inclined to hear people breaking in. I just didn’t even think it would be gunshots.”
It was not until she went down later on to grab a snack from the kitchen that the reality of the situation became clear.
One bullet had gone through the kitchen window and into a cabinet, while the second lodged itself in the window frame.
Clarke had moved into the house just ten days earlier, relocating from a nearby address where she had lived for 14 years without incident.
The resident believed the previous tenants had gang affiliations, but stressed that she and her family had no such connections.
“I don’t know why the hell someone would want to risk shooting me or my house and risk endangering the lives of my kids. It’s a really scary thing.”
Police confirmed they had been called to an address on Cambridge Terrace in Naenae at around 10.35pm after reports of a firearm being discharged towards a house.
“Nobody inside the address was physically hurt, but the occupants are understandably shaken,” a police spokesperson said.
A scene examination has been carried out, and inquiries to locate those involved are ongoing. People with relevant information were urged to contact police on 105.
