Police track down shots

Police were "pretty sure" no other vehicles had been hit, and have examined "approximate locations" around where shots had been fired.

Police are still trying to find out if shots fired by a wanted man hit any vehicles or properties during a chase after he is alleged to have murdered a woman north of Napier on Labour Day.

Inquiry head Detective Inspector Mike Foster said last night that no shots had hit any of the police vehicles involved in the chase, which began when police sighted the suspect's vehicle in Hastings on Monday night.

Police were "pretty sure" no other vehicles had been hit, and have examined "approximate locations" around where shots had been fired.

The man and vehicle were being sought after 24-year-old mum Victoria Foster, no relation of the detective, was found dead in her unit on The Esplanade, Westshore.

The man was shot when the pursuit ended about 11.10pm in Clive, a short distance from the riverside town's recently-closed police station.

The man, 28, late yesterday remained in a stable condition under police and prison officer guard in Hawke's Bay Hospital, where in a bedside court fixture on Wednesday he faced charges of murder and unlawful possession of a shotgun.

Mr Foster said police had not yet interviewed the accused, whose name has been suppressed, pending a further court appearance on November 16.

Police had spoken with people who had reported seeing the vehicle being driven erratically, but Mr Foster said the inquiry team is still interested in speaking with motorists who had to take action to avoid the dark red Toyota Corolla, particularly on State Highway 2, between Hastings-Clive.

The car had driven over one set of road spikes as it left Hastings and another at Clive before turning back into the village where the pursuit ended.

Meanwhile, the formal identification of Miss Foster was completed yesterday and she has been returned to family now planning her funeral, which will be held at St Luke's Anglican Church, Havelock North, on Monday at 11am.

By late yesterday, about 150 people had pledged a total of almost $5500 to an appeal initiated by a friend of Miss Foster on the Spark Foundation's givealittle on-line site, to support Miss Foster's daughter, a first-year pupil at Westshore School.