A rundown of the Auckland CBD shooting as it unfolded throughout the day.
Video / NZ Herald
“Don’t ever underestimate the seriousness of your offending, and don’t ever come back here.”
An Auckland District Court judge has granted Eden Singe, who helped move a firearm onto the black market which was later used by CBD workplace shooter Matu Reid, a sentence of home detention inthe hope he never appears before the court again.
Two people were killed and 10 others injured in Reid’s deadly rampage last July, which ended with his suspected suicide.
Reid did not have a firearms licence and following the attack police made inquiries to identify the origin of his cut-down Stoeger P350 12 gauge shotgun.
The Herald understands police were able to trace the weapon because ESR scientists managed to restore most of the serial number that was filed off.
This partial number was then cross-referenced with recent sales of the firearm’s particular make and model.
Police alleged the shotgun was purchased legally from a retail store in New Zealand before it was sold into the black market, a tactic known as using a “straw buyer”, or retail diversion.
According to court documents obtained by the Herald, police began intercepting the communications of one of Singe’s associates, who was also charged, after discovering the associate had purchased the gun from Gun City North Shore on November 10, 2022.
After police contacted the associate’s father, requesting to speak to his son, the associate was informed and called Singe to discuss why police wanted to chat.
“Their discussion included the new firearms laws, with Singe commenting that he wouldn’t be buying any more firearms whilst the new registry was operating,” the document said.
Police and emergency services on the scene of the shooting in Downtown Auckland last year. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Singe expressed concern to his associate about what he was going to say to police and the document said he reassured him that he would not say anything about them selling the firearm to a person without a licence.
The document said Singe had provided three other guns to the same unknown person he supplied the Stoeger to.
During the phone conversation the pair also discussed whether police would be able to identify the gun’s serial number if it had been “grinded off”, with the associate saying he must not have ground the number off properly.
Their call ended with Singe stating he was “just waiting for the election bro” as he hoped the gun registration scheme would be scrapped.
“Surely, it doesn’t stop anything,” he said, to which his acquaintance replied, “It kind of does”.
“It stops [people] doing what we are doing,” the other man said.
Singe, a 25-year-old drainlayer, pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful firearm possession, one of which was representative, earlier this year.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of four years’ imprisonment.
Yesterday in court, Singe’s lawyer Fletcher Pilditch, KC, said his client was extremely sorry that his actions were part of a chain that led to an “extremely unfortunate” outcome.
Judge Nevin Dawson told the court he would be more persuaded of Singe’s remorse if he had co-operated with police.
He said Singe had refused to assist police in their efforts to find out who he on-sold the shotgun and other weapons to.
On this, Pilditch said Singe was not driven by a desire to protect others, it was to protect himself as he feared he might be at risk if he co-operated.
In response, Judge Dawson questioned why he provided them with guns if he thought they were so dangerous.
Pilditch told the court at the time his client thought he was providing guns to people who shared his “passion for hunting”.
“You’re telling me he’s a very stupid person,” Judge Dawson said.
Pilditch submitted that home detention would be appropriate. But said prison would be more fitting given the danger the public was and still is exposed to.
After granting Singe several discounts for his previous good character, youth and guilty plea, his sentence was reduced to 24 months, giving Judge Dawson the option of imposing home detention.
The judge said Singe’s likelihood of reoffending was low as his firearms licence had been suspended and he landed on a final sentence of 12 months’ home detention.
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Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
