Kaitaia police said they would pass their findings on to the coroner. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Kaitaia police said they would pass their findings on to the coroner. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Police have confirmed that five young males aged between 17 and 25 have died suddenly in Kaitaia in the past 12 weeks.
A spokeswoman said all were "sudden death incidents which we have attended, where our investigations lead us to believe the person has taken their own life".
"We passour investigation findings to the Coroner, who will ultimately make a ruling as to how a death has occurred," she said.
The first death was in late May and the last one occurred this week.
Community leader Ricky Houghton of He Korowai Trust said earlier today that the five deaths reflected "a community in crisis".
"The people are feeling doomed. There's a sense of hopelessness and helplessness of the young people," he said.
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi of Ngati Hine Health Trust said her agency was supporting a group of young Kaitaia people led by 17-year-old student Nina Griffiths who had reactivated a local branch of a group called Respond to All In Distress (Raid).
"There have been three community meetings so far initiated by a young person [Nina] who used to be a Raider," she said.
