A man has been shot in his back and a woman narrowly missed being hit in the face by airgun pellets fired on two separate occasions in Hamilton yesterday.
The incidents happened in the Claudelands area, Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering said.
In the first incident a woman in River Road was narrowly missed from being hit in the face about 7pm and about 45 minutes later a man standing outside the Pizza Hutt in Claudelands, was shot in the back.
The injured man required medical treatment as the pellet penetrated two layers of clothing, Mr van de Wetering said.
"Both of these acts were very dangerous as everyone knows the capable force of modern air rifles.
"The only clue police have so far is that a white four door sedan might be involved but this is not a certainty," he said.
"It is unfortunate such behaviour occurred on an evening when people should be celebrating Christmas. Police would like to hear from anyone with information about this dangerous act as this air rifle needs to be removed from use as soon as possible."