The sister of the man who died during a shooting at a Waitārere Beach home says her brother was working through court documents in the days before his death, and he messaged her half an hour before the incident.
He was set to appear in court on the day he died. Stuff has reported he was facing two family violence-related charges.
The scene at the home this afternoon was bleak and grey, with family members gathering and neighbours leading horses from the property.
The violent incident occurred just after midnight on Wednesday.
The Herald understands the man who died was 60-year-old Benjamin Timmins, while the critically injured were a woman, 46, and two young men, aged 17 and 21.
Timmins’ body was removed from the property this afternoon.
Police believe an unharmed child, the fifth person found at the property, raised the alarm.
Timmins’ sister Rachael O’Grady told the Herald she first heard of the shooting in an article on Facebook.
She earlier described her brother as a “broken man” who was a former soldier and had since turned to farming.
Today at the scene, she claimed her brother was working through options for a child he shared with the woman at the property, whom he married in 2015.
O’Grady said she had spent this past weekend with her brother, working through court papers and options in Whanganui.
“We were drafting up statements for various applications and custody orders, protection orders,” she said.
The documents were set to accompany him to court on Wednesday.
“He ran the kids to and from school every day. He looked after the property. He looked after the house,” she claimed.
“Ben is not an angry man. He is a sad man. He is a broken man,” she said.
O’Grady said her brother messaged her half an hour before the incident occurred, and she was not surprised by the way the events unfolded because her brother was at the end of his “psychological rope”.
“It’s not just my brother that’s been failed by the whole thing; it’s everybody,” O’Grady said.
O’Grady described Timmins as a peacekeeper, frequently saying, “There’s nothing that can’t be solved with a hot cup of tea, a shower, and something to eat”.
She said when she saw him recently for his birthday in August, he had lost his “spark” in his eyes.
Emergency services, including police, rescue helicopters and ambulances, were called to the property about 12.40am on Wednesday, after a 111 call from the settlement north of Levin.
The shooting left three people with life-threatening injuries.
Timmins was found dead at the Waitārere Beach Rd address and police were not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.
Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham said officers were at the property within eight minutes.
“Responding officers were told that a firearm had been discharged at the address and, when they arrived, four people were found with wounds that are consistent with being shot,” he said.
“The quick response by police likely saved the three victims’ lives.
“Our officers were confronted with a harrowing scene that no one should have to witness.”
The woman was taken to Palmerston North Hospital by ambulance and the two men flown to Wellington Hospital. She has since been transferred to Wellington Hospital as well and all three remain in a critical condition.
“Another young person who was at the address is physically unharmed and they are being given wrap-around support.”
Grantham said he expected police to take several days to complete a scene examination of the rural property where the incident took place.
Grantham said police were called to the Waitārere Beach Rd property around 7.15pm on January 13, after someone reported discovering what they believed to be a firearm on the property.
Police located and seized a dismantled firearm, firearms parts and ammunition.
“The items were seized with the intent of forensically examining them and considering any firearms-related charges that might be applicable, given that nobody residing at the property was the holder of a firearms licence,” Grantham said.
Police also confirmed they’d responded to a family harm-related incident at the property last week.
A person was arrested and charged with assault on a person in a family relationship on January 9 and was due to appear in court yesterday.
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