“We spoke to a number of people in the street, trying to establish the events that had occurred.”
As a result of the fight a man in his 30s was flown to Waikato Hospital and admitted to intensive care.
“He remains in a stable condition with a number of injuries,” Det Snr Sgt Ford said.
“Another man is in a general ward in Gisborne Hospital with injuries. It is expected he will also be flown to Waikato Hospital at some stage.”
A third person, a female, was treated and discharged from Gisborne Hospital.
As of yet, no arrests have been made in relation to both incidents.
At 11.30pm last night, Fire and Emergency New Zealand received 111 calls about a fire at a two-storey Housing New Zealand residence in Titoki Place, which is off Titoki Street.
The fire has been linked to the previous violence.
Three fire appliances were dispatched.
“The building was well involved in fire when we arrived,” a senior firefighter said.
“A gas line on the exterior of the property had been severed and it was feeding the fire.
“We had to get control of that burning gas before we could begin to tackle the fire inside the property,” he said.
“Once we'd done that we were able to get inside with breathing apparatus to see if anyone was inside.
“Fortunately the residence was unoccupied at the time the fire started.”
The adjoining unit in the building was not damaged.
“But the unit where it started suffered extensive damage,” the senior firefighter said.
Fire crews were there for a couple of hours.
A specialist fire investigator was called in. He began a detailed examination of the remains of the property this morning.
“At this time there is no known link between the shot fired and what happened in Titoki Street later,” Det Snr Sgt Ford said.
“We believe there was an earlier fight in Titoki Street that we would like information about.”
Anyone who witnessed or has knowledge about the Titoki Street fights, should contact police, he said,
“We also want information about the Stout Street shooting, which involved a silver/teal-coloured four-door Subaru sedan.
“We are working with people in Titoki Street and with the gangs themselves to get to the bottom of this to ensure there are calm heads out there,” Det Snr Sgt Ford said.
“Anyone who is concerned about gang-related activity, or movements in the city and district, should contact the police.”
