Police have arrested three people who fired paintball guns at moving vehicles, hitting one in the windscreen.
Their antics have been labelled idiotic with the potential for fatal consequences.
Levin police were called today at about 3.30pm to deal with a group of three males firing shots from a
paintball gun at members of the public.
This group were in a gray/black Toyota Hilux with large wheels. They travelled from Otaki Beach to Levin and fired a paintball gun out the window of their moving vehicle.
The shots were aimed at vehicles travelling south on State Highway 1.
Police have received three complaints so far, including one where the yellow paintball has hit the front windscreen of a moving vehicle.
Responding to 111 calls the police located the offenders in Bolton Road, Levin. A search of the vehicle found the offenders had dismantled the gun and hidden it throughout the vehicle.
Two 14-year-old Levin youths have been referred to the Horowhenua Youth Aid Section for recklessly discharging an airgun.
A 20-year-old Levin man, who was the driver of the vehicle, has been charged with being a party to recklessly discharging an airgun. He is due to appear in the Levin District Court on January 10.
The paintball gun has been seized and is likely to be destroyed.
The group have admitted to firing on five motor vehicles, some letterboxes and residential houses.
"This kind of offending could have had fatal consequences,'' police said. "The paintball which hit the vehicle's front windscreen could have obscured the driver's vision, causing a crash."
"With the amount of traffic on the road over the holiday period this was an incredibly stupid thing to do.''
Police want to speak to anyone who was shot at by this group.
Anyone affected can contact the Levin police on (06)366-0500.
