A former gang member says it is "inevitable" an innocent person will get caught up in gang violence in Whangarei.
The comments come after five people were injured in a shooting involving the Black Power and Nomad gangs in Clark Rd on Wednesday night.
A 21-year-old man, who was one of the five admitted to hospital, was arrested by police and 19 investigators are working on the case.
It is the third gang shooting in Whangarei in four months.
Two in October last year were fatal.
Martin Kaipo, chief executive of the Te Hau Awhiowhio Trust and a former Black Power member, said it was "inevitable" an innocent person would get caught in the middle.
"That's the life that they're drawn into. The hard and fast life. Do I want it to continue?
No.
"Someone is going to get caught up in it. The incident on Wednesday sounds like it was less public. But what happens when it's in the middle of the day and people are walking around?"
Last week police were called to William Jones Dr, Otangarei, after reports of violence brewing, with 15 to 20 people standing on the road with bats about to fight.
Mr Kaipo said a child was walking home when they got caught in the middle of it. He said it was lucky police responded quickly and no one was hurt.
Mr Kaipo believed 'P' was a key factor in gang crime in Whangarei.
"First of all it was the methamphetamine, control over that environment. Low socio communities will always be targeted. You've got a sure revenue that comes in so you can make those types of communities dependent on those kinds of temptations.
"Whangarei, at one stage, was Black Power dominated. Now you've got so many different groups coming in, taking up opportunities. You're going to get fallout," he said.
Mr Kaipo said communities needed to come together to discuss how to respond to gang violence and the meth problem.
"What happens is people worry about what is happening on their side of the fence and not what's happening over the fence because 'it doesn't affect me, I don't want to get involved'. That's just stupid," he said.
Whangarei/Kaipara Area Commander, Inspector Justin Rogers, said police were working on establishing exactly what occurred at the Clark Rd address.
Police could not rule out the possibility that further people were involved.
Someone (innocent) is going to get caught up in it.
"We want to reassure our community that we still have a number of investigators working on this case.
"We have had offers from other police districts to send staff. However at this stage it is not required and we will continue to assess this on a daily basis."
Detective Senior Sergeant Dene Begbie said the Clark Rd address was the centre of investigation.
There had been allegations that shots were fired from vehicles on the night but police were not aware of that happening, he said.
Three people remain in Whangarei Hospital in a stable condition, including the arrested man.
Mr Begbie said police would continue to maintain a strong presence in the Kamo area and at Whangarei Hospital.
A 33-year-old man was discharged last night and one person is in Auckland City Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A scene examination is being conducted and no firearms have been recovered at this stage, Mr Begbie said.
No gang problem: Reti
Three gang-related shootings in four months do not equal a gang problem, says Whangarei's MP.
Shane Reti's comments follow Wednesday night's shooting involving the Black Power and Nomad gangs - the third gang-related shooting in Whangarei in four months.
"I think every city has a gang presence - I'm not convinced Whangarei has a gang problem," he said.
This week, five people were injured.
Last October, John Henry Harris, known as John Boy, died after being shot in the chest north of Whangarei. The 37-year-old was a patched member of the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club.
Two weeks before that shooting, 25-year-old Moses Noor Mahanga, a member of the Head Hunters gang, was fatally shot in Otangarei.
Asked if other cities had suffered that many gang shootings within a four-month period, Dr Reti said he could not comment and it was a question to direct at police.
Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis believes methamphetamine, or P, is fuelling gang violence.
"We have a meth problem that is fuelling violence and gangs are the face of it. There are many gang members opposed to meth, but are largely helpless in doing much to stop their colleagues from cashing in on the lure of quick fortunes to be made."
He said the drug was so addictive it caused people to lose rationale and reason.
Dr Reti said his role was to ensure police had appropriate resources and he was reassured Northland police were being offered support to deal with this latest shooting.
On a wider scale, police resources were given high priority in the Government's $500 million Safe Communities package, he said.
Dr Reti said he was also reassured after the Government announced last year that $3 million of the $15 million seized under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act would go towards a police and Ministry of Health initiative to reduce methamphetamine demand in Northland.