Petrified, the woman's son turned into a driveway, turned around and headed back the way he came. He drove into a driveway at Western Heights High School, locked his doors, turned his lights off, lay his seat flat and called his mother for help.
His mother said her son was too scared to drive home as the gunman's car was heading in the direction where he lived.
The woman said she answered her phone to hear her shaken son telling her "mum, my car has been shot at".
"I didn't know what he meant and I said 'by who and what for?'. He said 'I'm hiding from them'. I grabbed my dressing gown and I was out the door in 30 seconds."
The woman said they went to the police station immediately. Police went to the scene and found one shotgun case. The following day, the teen's family also went to the area and found another shotgun case.
She said police had told them the incident was possibly the same offenders who had earlier in the night been involved in a gang clash on Lake Rd at the Gull Service Station.
During that incident, a group of men wearing Mongrel Mob patches smashed an empty car in the service station forecourt.
The teen's mother said she felt Western Heights had become more dangerous with gang activity during the past six months.
"There is so much gang activity and I'm worried it's becoming normal in Rotorua. I think some of us actual working people need to stand up and do something. I want to make sure we are enforcing no patches and see what we can do about getting on top of things."
The woman said her son - who was a "good kid", completely innocent and minding his own business - could have died.
"It could have been 10 times worse and who is to say that next time someone won't be killed. I'm so mad. We need to be saying no gangs are allowed in our town."
A police spokeswoman said police were trying to find the offender and were exploring whether there could be any links to other incidents in the area over recent days.
