A man is in Rotorua Hospital with serious injuries after he was shot near Paradise Valley Rd.

Police say investigations are in the early stages and it is too soon to speculate on what happened - including whether the shooting was gang-related.

Area Commander Inspector Bruce Horne said police were alerted to the shooting by staff at Rotorua Hospital after the 23-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Mr Horne said an ambulance was not called but the man was taken to hospital by a friend.

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He is now in a stable condition although Rotorua Hospital was unable to release details of his condition other than confirming he was still a patient.

Police believe the man's injuries were related to reports of gunshots heard on Paradise Valley Rd just before 11pm last night. They were unable to say where on his body he sustained injuries.

He said while police were aware of a lot of speculation police were keeping an open mind.

"I have confidence we will get to the bottom of it."

Mr Horne said police had been able to have a "preliminary conversation" with the man but the first priority was his wellbeing.

He said the injured man was co-operating with police.

Mr Horne said police were interested in hearing from anyone who had information on suspicious activity in the Paradise Valley Rd area last night.

"We are very interested in information about vehicles in the area. Generally there are not a lot of cars around."

Investigations are ongoing at the scene on Paradise Valley Rd.

Police were also around the Bonnington Reserve carpark today marking and photographing the scene.

While police said it was not an area known for trouble, a woman who lived near the carpark said people often congregated there.

"There is always gatherings, parties and noise coming from that area."

The woman, who did not want to be named, said when she and her partner heard the noises they thought it might have been a car backfiring.

They went on to the deck to investigate and her partner heard someone say he had been shot and saw two cars speed away.

While it was a "little party spot" she said there had been no major problems there that she was aware of.

Police at the scene this morning. Photo/Stephen Parker
Police at the scene this morning. Photo/Stephen Parker