St Cuthbert's teacher injured by gunshot debris on the mend

Bryan Reddish was overseeing a group of Year 10 girls who were camping close to the Kahunui campus when he was injured. Photo / Alan Gibson

A private school teacher, who was hit in the face by debris in a shooting incident, is recovering at home with his family.

Bryan Reddish, who is the deputy director of St Cuthbert's outdoor Kahunui campus in the Bay of Plenty, was hit in the face by shards of rock after gunshots were fired near the school camp shortly before midnight on Friday. He suffered minor injuries, the school said on Saturday.

He was overseeing a group of Year 10 girls who were camping close to the school's remote 117ha property in the Waiotahi Valley. The schoolgirls were all asleep at the time, and none were injured.

This morning a spokeswoman for the school said everyone was "safe and well".

Mr Reddish was "at home, recuperating", she said. "He's well, but not at work today."

Police had advised the school not to make any further comment until their investigation was complete, she said.

On Saturday, Senior Sergeant Malcolm Collins said the tutor was hit in the face by flying debris that came off a rock that splintered when a shotgun shell struck it.

He had been away from the main camp where the girls were sleeping at the time.

"He had just a few cuts. Ambulance treated him last night [Friday] up the road from the scene and he went back to the camp," he said at the time.

A group of hunters who were in the area have been spoken to by police, and they were seeking another group of hunters believed to have been in the area at the time.

Each year every Year 10 student from St Cuthbert's spends about 28 days at Kahunui to complete an academic, social living and outdoor programme.