By ALISON HORWOOD
"Merry Christmas Dad, I love you," were the last words Waqa Ekevati heard from his only son, Samuela Ekevati.
The 18-year-old could hardly contain his excitement on Christmas Day when he phoned his family from Sydney to say he was enjoying his holiday so much he wanted to stay and take a two-year engineering course.
The next news Mr Ekevati received of his son came a week later, when police knocked at the door.
Samuela, a popular student and talented rugby player who was born and grew up in the Hutt Valley, had been gunned down in front of his two cousins in Sydney's notorious red-light district of Kings Cross.
Outside a fast-food shop on Darlinghurst Rd at 5.45 am on January 6, Moses Raisili Ekevati and Peter Ekevati watched in horror as a gunman ambushed Samuela.
Witnesses say the teenager fell to the pavement and died instantly from a single bullet to the chest.
Detective Senior Constable Steve Blackmore of the Kings Cross police told the Weekend Herald that Samuela and his cousins spent several hours drinking and playing pool at the Hampton Court Hotel.
There, they became involved in a brawl with two Caucasian men, which was broken up by staff.
After leaving the bar, Samuela and his cousins moved about 50m up the road to get a meal, where the fight began again.
One of the men pulled out a pistol and, in front of Samuela's cousins and about 30 onlookers, fired two shots before running off, said Detective Senior Constable Blackmore.
"We are following up a number of leads for the two men, but we believe at this stage they were not necessarily the aggressors of the fight," he said. Police believe the men, aged about 25 and 35, are locals from Kings Cross.
As the police trawl through hours of surveillance film and continue their hunt, Samuela's family are left wondering how their oldest son could have been felled in the prime of his life.
"Sam was loved by everyone and mixed with everyone," said his stepmother, Mereoni Ekevati.
Samuela's parents refuse to believe he or his cousins started the fight. "He was a big, tall guy, but he was very gentle and was always smiling," said Mrs Ekevati.
"Sam" was born in Lower Hutt, and attended Naenae College before studying engineering at Wellington Polytechnic. He went to Sydney several weeks ago to stay with his uncle and investigate further study.
His body was flown home early on Thursday and spent a night at home with his family before his burial yesterday in Taita.
'Dad, I love you,' then joy turns to tragedy
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