NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

South Aucklanders on living among 2019 spate of fatal shootings: 'My kids don't walk the streets'

Tom Dillane
By Tom Dillane
Reporter/Deputy Head of News·NZ Herald·
1 Jun, 2019 05:05 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

South Aucklanders on living amongst 2019 spate of fatal shootings: 'My kids don't walk the streets'.

Long-time residents don't want their South Auckland suburbs characterised as violent but there's no denying the recent string of shootings has left many fearful.

Some were defensive about their neighbourhood being pigeon-holed as a setting for violence but with six shootings in domestic streets south of Mount Wellington in 2019 - three fatal - many feel otherwise.

Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina announced at an Otara public meeting in May: "Our community, they're afraid."

Yet, on the ground, residents' apprehension often depended on how long they had lived in the area.

The most recent shooting was on May 25 on Brady Rd, along Seaside Park, Otahuhu, where Samiuela Anania Tupou was fatally shot at 4.40am.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hannah Sarkar had been renting a house at the opposite end of Brady Rd for just two months, with her fiance Peter Tutton and their 2-year-old son, Theodore.

Sarkar said the flowers, now bunched on the border of Seaside Park where the 21-year-old was killed, had tainted a playground she had gone to with Theodore to ride his bike daily.

"We haven't been back there since. I know we will venture over there at some point because it would be stupid not to but it's just getting over that hurdle, it's just a bit weird," Sarkar said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The flowers definitely highlight it a bit. I guess before you could almost try to drive by and forget it, but now it is very much there. It was pretty confronting having it right across the road."

Otahuhu residents Peter Tutton, 25, Hannah Sarkar, 23 and Theodore Tutton, 2, were unable to exit Brady Rd all day on May 25 after a fatal shooting.
Otahuhu residents Peter Tutton, 25, Hannah Sarkar, 23 and Theodore Tutton, 2, were unable to exit Brady Rd all day on May 25 after a fatal shooting.
Brady Rd, Otahuhu, a week after a man was fatally shot on May 25.
Brady Rd, Otahuhu, a week after a man was fatally shot on May 25.

On Piako St, Otara, a man sat on the townhouse stoop smoking, gazing out at the front yard where his brother, Faaifo 'Joe' Siaosi, was fatally shot on May 17.

Barely 30m away were a grouping corner shops, and Flat Bush primary school.

Ramona Pitone, 30, was picking up food from the Flat Bush Superette this week, and could relate to the situation on Piako St - with her home in Mangere also near the scene of a shooting on February 17.

Discover more

New Zealand

Shooting at Harley-Davidson store in Auckland

26 Apr 02:19 AM
New Zealand|crime

Witnesses describe dramatic aftermath of shooting

17 May 09:10 AM
New Zealand|crime

'A drive-by shooting': Man shot dead as he walked away from confrontation

18 May 07:33 AM
New Zealand

Gang wars: Shootings 'the worst in 60 years'

25 May 07:30 AM

"It does [bother me]. Especially raising kids in a community where shootings happen all the time. And for me it's sad to see my children go through school and have to practise lockdowns just in case of shootings.

"My kids don't walk the streets at all, or walk home. To me it's just dangerous, whether it be shootings or anything really."

Filipaina said he had spoken to local Labour MP Jenny Salesa about obtaining funding to reintroduce youth workers to South Auckland streets.

"It worked well in 2007 in Mangere, Otara and Manurewa, because there were people from the area that worked with our youth, especially around certain gangs."

Filipaina said Salesa told him she would consult with her Government colleagues over the proposal, but Filipaina conceded, at this stage, "I don't think there is a Budget line for youth workers."

Yet in Mount Wellington, on the same block where Killer Beez president Josh Masters was shot and critically injured at a Harley-Davidson dealership on April 25, there was a more relaxed attitude among some locals.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Mount Wellington resident Harry Neilsen, 65, says the recent shooting at a local Harley-Davidson dealership hasn't stopped him shopping nearby.
Mount Wellington resident Harry Neilsen, 65, says the recent shooting at a local Harley-Davidson dealership hasn't stopped him shopping nearby.

Harry Neilsen, 65, has lived in Mount Wellington for "20 odd years" and said there hadn't been a shooting there "for a long time" prior to the Masters' hit.

When asked if it altered his behaviour Neilsen was emphatic.

"S*** no. Still go down the road, still go by Black Power headquarters, still do my shopping down there too," Neilsen said.

"Doesn't worry the old farts mate, you get used to it.

"It's just the way the gangs are with each other, it had nothing to do with us. Just put up with it don't you. If it happens, it happens. As long as it doesn't happen to me."

Otahuhu resident Katie Lee, 39, says she has lived all over Auckland and feels safest in the south due to the strong community presence.
Otahuhu resident Katie Lee, 39, says she has lived all over Auckland and feels safest in the south due to the strong community presence.

Inspector Wendy Spiller had been police area commander of Counties Manukau East for six years, and said the shootings in her region were "definitely more than last year".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Spiller said it was "a really tough question" to gauge how much of a negative impact the shootings had on the state of mind of residents, but the immediate reaction that officers encountered was clear.

"I think the underlying sense is fear. It doesn't matter what neighbourhood you live in, people don't want incidents involving firearms in their neighbourhood," Spiller said.

"When people see police they're always interested and wanting to know what's happening in their patch. So they'll ask what's happening, what's going on, that's the first couple of questions that come, and we will give them a brief overview.

"Obviously we're not going to give complete details. But our job is to keep the community safe, and to do that we need to cordon, contain, and often appeal [for information]."

Flat Bush primary school principal Banapa Avatea said the fatal shooting on Piako St, Otara, on May 17 was not "reflective of our community" on the whole.
Flat Bush primary school principal Banapa Avatea said the fatal shooting on Piako St, Otara, on May 17 was not "reflective of our community" on the whole.

Flat Bush primary school principal Banapa Avatea said the Piako St shooting, metres from their front gate, makes people more aware of the potential for tragedy.

"It's not easy. Staff members at our school live in Otara. I went to the local community meeting the day after the shooting and 150 people turned up to provide voice. What I got from that is the community just want to see action," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But this morning there was a shooting in Mt Eden, and do people say Mt Eden is a rough place to live? No.

"Our children are resilient, our children are strong, our children reflect their community, and they dealt with the situation."

Lifelong Otara resident Ioane Autagavaia, 27, echoed this sentiment of faith in his neighbourhood.

"Nah, I still trust my kids to walk around here, I reckon it's still safe. It's just raw business. It's something you have to get used to."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

live
New Zealand

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 08:07 PM
Herald NOW

Sean 'Diddy' Combs acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted on lesser charge

Herald NOW

Local Government nominations open on Friday

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds
live

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 08:07 PM

Rain started falling at the top of the country before dawn.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted on lesser charge

Sean 'Diddy' Combs acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted on lesser charge

Local Government nominations open on Friday

Local Government nominations open on Friday

No 10 insisting UK PM didn't make Chancellor cry

No 10 insisting UK PM didn't make Chancellor cry

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP