Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke's Bay police conducting armed patrols after gang violence 'ramps up' in Napier

Hawkes Bay Today
20 Nov, 2019 01:29 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The need for armed police in Hawke's Bay was being reviewed on a daily basis. Photo / Paul Taylor

The need for armed police in Hawke's Bay was being reviewed on a daily basis. Photo / Paul Taylor

Armed police have been patrolling streets across Hawke's Bay amid a spate of ongoing gang violence in Napier.

Minister of Police and Napier MP Stuart Nash confirmed the need for armed police in Hawke's Bay was being reviewed on a daily basis. following three days of incidents, starting with an assault at Anderson Park, Greenmeadows, on Sunday.

A man aged in his 20s was admitted to hospital with a broken jaw.

Over the next few hours a person was reportedly struck by a vehicle across town in Geddis Ave, Maraenui, a man arrived at the Napier Medical Centre with a stab wound, and a shot was fired outside the Wellesley Rd centre after patched gang members had gathered in the area.

READ MORE:
• Gang mayhem in Napier: Shot fired at medical centre, man stabbed, person struck by car
• Arrest hopes after gang clashes in Napier
• Hawke's Bay police conducting armed patrols after gang violence in Napier
• TOP STORY: Gang 'told teen to kill'

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Continuing three days of possibly related incidents, two shots were reported to have been fired at Awatoto on Tuesday night, after which three firearms were found in a vehicle which was stopped by police soon afterwards in Kennedy Rd, Napier, Detective Inspector Mike Foster said.

"We've seen gang members stabbed," Foster told Radio New Zealand.

Armed police outside City Medical in Napier on Monday morning. Photo / Warren Buckland
Armed police outside City Medical in Napier on Monday morning. Photo / Warren Buckland

"We've seen turf wars down at Anderson Park between Mongrel Mob and Black Power, which is not unusual but it is ramping up so we've got staff visible down there at the moment."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Nash said police around the country make arming decisions based on the need to keep communities and frontline staff safe.

Similar arming of staff has taken place in Hawke's Bay over the years, most notably during the two-months-long hunt for gang associate Terance Thompson after he shot dead policeman Glenn Mckibbin in a suburban Flaxmere street in April 1996.

Discover more

National win for CHB paint store

20 Nov 05:00 PM

"I know that they don't take this decision lightly and that the situation will be kept under review on a regular basis," Nash said, adding it is a temporary measure due to heightened concerns, and members of the public should be "reassured" by the presence of armed police.

"I expect police to keep the public informed, as appropriate to any significant dangers to wider public safety," he said.

He said the Labour-led Government had increased resources for police in the Eastern District of Hawke's Bay and Gisborne Tairawhiti and the District Commander has used the extra police officers to establish a Gang Focus Unit dedicated to preventing and responding to organised crime involving gangs.

Foster told RNZ there were about 1000 gang members in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, an increase of 58 percent over the last two years, and they were increasingly visible in the community, he said.

National Party policing spokesman and list MP Brett Hudson said National is committed to clamping down on gangs and will release a Law and Order Discussion Document next week highlighting some of its ideas for "addressing the growing gang problem in New Zealand".

He rejected suggestions gang membership growth was spurred by issues for teenagers and young men stemming from the removal of families' state housing in the term of the last National government.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Police have said there was a second "incident" near Anderson Park on Monday night, and on Tuesday night two men were arrested in a vehicle containing three allegedly unlawful firearms, following reports of a firearm being discharged in the Awatoto area south of Napier.

Haami Te Hore, 31, and Alexandra Timu, 22, appeared today in Napier District Court, entering no plea to a charge of unlawful possession of firearms, specifically a shotgun, a .22 and a .270. Each was remanded on bail to appear again on December 12.

Foster said police were still seeking people alleged to have been involved in Sunday's incidents.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

Hawkes Bay Today

Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning

Hawkes Bay Today

Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer
Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

The changes are part of Hastings' early rollout of lower speed limits.

16 Jul 03:49 AM
Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning
Hawkes Bay Today

Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning

16 Jul 01:20 AM
Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital
Hawkes Bay Today

Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital

15 Jul 11:58 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP