Grey Lynn rock thrower has central Auckland residents on edge

A glass door smashed on Sackville St.

By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

Residents in a suburban Auckland street say they have been terrorised for months by someone throwing rocks through the windows of houses along the road.

A number of houses on Sackville St in title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/grey-lynn/">Grey Lynn had their windows smashed by rocks on Monday, the latest in a series of attacks dating back to February last year.

A long-time Sackville St resident – who RNZ has agreed not to name – said residents have spent thousands of dollars to repair damage and install security cameras.

“We just really want this to stop,” they said.

“It’s a really nice street with mixed housing, so there’s some rentals, and there’s some owners, and there’s the Kāinga Ora flats, which we all really like.

“This person is the most unwelcome and frightening intrusion that I could imagine.

“It’s terrifying lying in bed, waking up for every sound, thinking that a rock’s going to be thrown through your window.”

Six windows had been smashed on Monday, said the resident.

They said it was a near-daily occurrence.

“All it takes is for somebody to be on the other end of that rock for it to escalate to grievous bodily harm,” they said.

They said the person they believed was responsible for the damaged property stayed with a tenant in the nearby Kāinga Ora development, but was not a tenant themselves.

The resident said police were on the street on Monday night after more properties were damaged.

They believed the person’s behaviour was escalating.

“All of us are having sleepless nights, we’re all terrified,” they said.

“We’ve all been told by the cops to ring 111 when it happens, but only occasionally when we do that do the cops turn up, because it’s not a hugely high priority for them.”

Auckland City West Acting Inspector Alan Rowland said they had received complaints from Sackville St residents in recent weeks regarding wilful damage.

“Our staff are actively looking into this matter,” he said.

“We will take appropriate action as necessary.

“In the meantime, we ask any residents that have not yet reported offending to ensure they lodge a report online or call 105,” said Rowland.

“I think the tenant will have to be moved on,” said the longtime Sackville St resident.

“I think that will be the only solution, and how Kāinga Ora go about that I don’t know.”

Kāinga Ora regional director for central and east Auckland John Tubberty told RNZ they were aware of the situation, and that the behaviour was clearly unacceptable.

“The allegations involve a person who has been visiting one of our properties – they are not a tenant,” he said.

“We are looking into whether we can take any action under the Residential Tenancies Act to address the situation.”

Tubberty encouraged anyone witnessing any illegal activity to contact the police.

- RNZ

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