Manurewa shooting: Single gunshot killed one teen, left another fighting for life in unsolved attack

Reporter·NZ Herald·

9 Jan, 2024 04:00 PM3 mins to read

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A single gunshot fired through a car window in Auckland early on New Year’s Day critically injured two teenagers. One later succumbed to his wounds, while the other is fighting for his life in hospital.

Detectives from Counties Manukau CIB continue to probe the unusual shooting in Manurewa’s Addington Ave, but police have yet to make an arrest.

The Herald can now reveal the gunman unleashed a sole shotgun blast through a car window around 3.20am as the two teenage victims sat alongside each other. The shooter and several others fled the scene.

It is understood police are probing possible gang links and a connection to a dispute earlier in the evening in Addington Ave amid raucous New Year celebrations.

Both teenagers were found unresponsive in the car with serious head wounds from the shotgun pellets and taken to hospital in a critical condition. The 19-year-old did not recover and died from his injuries.

Police this week said the 17-year-old victim remained in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Detective Inspector Karen Bright asked anyone who was in the area of Addington Ave on New Year’s Eve to come forward, particularly those with dashcam footage.

“We know this will have been a shock to the community. However, we would like to reassure them this appears to be an isolated incident,” Bright said.

A vehicle of interest remained at the scene on Addington Ave, Manurewa, where two people were injured in a shooting during the early hours of New Year's Day. Photo / Dean Purcell

Images from the scene show a green sedan with a blown-out rear window that has crashed into the side of a white van. The owner of the van said he thought the loud noises outside his door in the early morning were fireworks.

Another Addington Ave resident said people had been partying and letting off fireworks on the street all evening.

“We didn’t hear anything because people were letting off flares in the street,” he said.

“The first we heard of what happened was [upon] waking up and seeing the crime scene outside [our] door.”

Police this week said the investigation remains ongoing and they are following positive lines of inquiry. They would not release the name of the young man who died.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or via the 105 line, quoting file number 240101/2378.

George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.