Man charged over alleged Waiau Pa shooting that left man in critical condition

A 37-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a firearms incident at Waiau Pa yesterday afternoon. Photo / File

A man has been charged following an alleged shooting that left another man critically injured in a small town south of Auckland.

Police said yesterday emergency services were called to Wright Rd in Waiau Pa around 2pm today following reports that a man had been shot.

The injured man was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a critical condition, but was now stable.

Today, police said they had charged a 37-year-old man with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and unlawful possession of a firearm in relation to the incident.

A witness yesterday told the Herald a dramatic arrest unfolded on a fleeing driver, involving armed police.

"All of a sudden about half a dozen police cars came from all angles and surrounded this car," the witness said.

"They arrested the one man who was in the car. It was quite dramatic, some of the cops had rifles."

The witness said it had been a "quiet Sunday afternoon" up until that point, and he had no idea why the man was arrested.

Police said the incident was unrelated to the homicide in Clover Park, South Auckland, on Saturday evening, April 20.

The cause of death there would be the subject of a post mortem examination but it appeared the victim suffered a gunshot wound, police said.