Daughter sees dad shot on marae

By PAUL YANDALL

A masked gunman shot a Maori youth worker in front of his teenage daughter and a group of children early yesterday.

Paul Te Whenua Davis was wounded after he confronted an intruder inside Orakei Marae, near Bastion Pt.

The gunman fired three shots from what is believed to be a .22 rifle. The second hit Mr Davis in the stomach and entered his pelvis. The other two narrowly missed him and his 14-year-old daughter, Teri.

Mr Davis, 42, was reported to be in a comfortable condition in Auckland Hospital last night. Doctors have decided against immediately removing the bullet in his right hip.

At his bedside yesterday, his twin, Phil Davis, told the Herald that the balaclava-clad gunman slipped into the Ngati Whatua iwi marae before 4.25 am. It was not known why he was there.

Nineteen children aged between seven and 14 were sleeping inside, as well as three adults, including another brother, Pirimoana Davis.

They had been enjoying the first night of a week-long sports and cultural club holiday programme run by Paul Davis and Ngati Whatua.

As the intruder entered the main meeting area of the marae, Mr Davis awoke.

"He told him to get out, but he used more colourful language than that," said Phil Davis. "The man told him he had come to pick up a bag there, but started to leave."

When Mr Davis got up to follow the man out, he was joined by his daughter, Teri.

But just as the intruder was about to leave the building, he turned on the pair.

"He fired one shot from what we think was a .22 [rifle], but missed. The next one hit him in the hip and he went down," said Phil Davis.

"On the ground, he was shouting at her [Teri] to run back inside, to get back to the adults. Then there was another shot."

After that the gunman fled.

Police and the armed offenders squad cordoned off the marae and searched the surrounding area but did not find the attacker.

Mr Davis was taken to hospital and the children were taken from the marae to be interviewed and to receive counselling from Child, Youth and Family staff.

The marae is expected to be cordoned off again today for further examination as 30 police officers hunt for clues to the gunman's identity.

Detective Inspector Gavin Jones said details of the incident were still unclear. Initial police reports of two shots being fired were later revised to three shots.

"At the time of the shooting it was dark and people were sleepy, so there are sketchy recollections of the events," he said.

A search of the area had failed to find anything of significance and the reason for the incident remained a mystery.