Ōtara, South Auckland home shot at, police investigate as tally of houses targeted by gunmen mounts

Police are investigating another house being shot at in south Auckland overnight.

A police spokesperson said officers responded to reports of a firearm being discharged towards an address on East Tāmaki Rd, Ōtara around 7.47pm.

Police examine the scene of a shooting at a house on East Tamaki Rd, Ōtara. Photo / Michael Craig

There were no injuries in this latest incident, said the spokesperson.

Police inquiries would continue today and the Ōtara community could expect to see an increased Police presence in the area.

This morning two police officers with large rifles were stationed outside the home targeted by gunmen last night.

Detectives were taking photos and collecting evidence in the doorway of the home which faces a busy main road.

At least four holes from gunfire have damaged the home’s outside walls, with one bullet piercing a window.

The front door of the home also has a large bullet hole.

A police officer examines a bullet hole in a window of an Ōtara house shot at overnight. Photo / Michael Craig

This most recent shooting comes after a spate of similar crimes across Auckland, with at least one home a week targeted in June.

Last week, a Māngere home was sprayed by gunfire, missing children sleeping in a room.

Edward Ru, also known as Sweet & Irie, took to Facebook to share videos of the grandchildren’s smashed front bedroom windows of his home on Plumley Cres.

“All my kids were sleeping in that bedroom,” he said while showing a pane smashed with at least five holes.

“Just thank the Lord that none of them got hit.”

The home on Plumley Cres was left riddled with bullets after the shooting. Photo / Hayden Woodward

On June 18, the shooting of a Weymouth home left residents in shock, too traumatised to speak.

The shooting in Roscommon Rd, close to Clendon McDonald’s, resulted in damage to multiple windows in the house as well as to a car in the driveway.

It’s understood the shooters went to a family’s residence, fired multiple rounds of ammunition and then fled.

The family at the Weymouth home were left traumatised. Photo /Hayden Woodward

A small East Auckland cul de sac became a target twice in just a week. On June 20, two men aged 23 and 25 were arrested for the shooting and faced firearms and drug charges.

A drive-by in Māngere East on June 8 left a grandmother baffled and asking why a “punk-ass” targeted her home after it was sprayed with bullets.

Three adults and a baby were in the home at the time, with some of the ammunition travelling through multiple rooms, but no one was hurt.

The 58-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, was sitting in the lounge watching the State of Origin with her daughter, baby granddaughter and ex-partner, a 79-year-old man on dialysis.

The tenant in the kitchen of her house that was targeted in a drive by shooting in Māngere East. Photo / Jason Oxenham

There were several bullet holes in windows and weatherboards, detectives placed at least 18 forensic markers where bullet casings were found on the roadway outside the address.

“I didn’t really know what a gunshot sounded like until then. Now I know.

“There’s a hole in my wall. There’s a hole in my window.”

It happened on the same night of another shooting incident at a residential property in Onehunga.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.