The house in the Hamilton suburb of Frankton where a man was shot last night. Photo / Belinda Feek
A relation of a woman alleged to have shot a man in Hamilton says she used a makeshift weapon involving a steel pipe and a shotgun shell when it accidentally fired, killing her best mate.
The 23-year-old appeared in the Hamilton District Court today over the man's death which occurred at a house in Frankton about 8.15pm on Tuesday.
The woman, who was granted interim name suppression, was supported in court by family and friends.
Her lawyer Kerry Burroughs unsuccessfully sought bail.
The accused was dressed in a blue boiler suit and appeared relaxed in the dock. She was remanded in custody without plea to appear next month.
Her relative told the Herald she used a makeshift weapon involving a steel pipe and a shotgun shell when it accidentally fired, killing her best mate.
Neighbours are in shock, but the alleged shooter's cousin - who lives opposite the house - said she told him she had accidentally shot her friend by putting a shotgun shell in a steel pipe and then hitting it with a hammer.
"She told me that she stuck a shotgun shell into a piece of steel pipe and hit it with a hammer, that's what happened. Nothing about a firearm or anything. I don't know what she was up to."
The pair had been drinking all day and the shooting happened in a bedroom, he said.
He also claims the victim could have survived if the police had allowed an ambulance - based just 300m down the road - to the house earlier.
Instead he was left "moaning and groaning" on the front steps of his house.
"She was just on the phone to the ambulance and screaming. She was on the phone to the ambulance for about half an hour and instead of sending the ambulance they sent the armed offenders [squad] and in that time that guy bled to death on the front doorstep.
"I reckon he might have been alive if they didn't spend half an hour mucking around. It takes two minutes. She rung [ambulance] and said 'gunshot' and they went, 'Oh don't send the ambulance, send the armed offenders'.
"That guy might still be alive if they weren't f*****g around. It was a joke."
The cousin said the victim was "moaning and groaning" as they dragged him out of the house onto the front steps.
The shooting was an accident, he said.
Immediately after the shooting, the woman ran to the man's house and asked him to help her, he said.
"I went over there and there was him in a pool of blood. He was in the room and we dragged him outside and we were going to put him in the truck and take him to hospital but the armed offenders got here before then."
He believed his cousin would now be freaking out, "it will be sinking in now".
The victim was the alleged shooter's "best mate", he said.
"He was friends with her mum and he's known [alleged shooter] since she was real young."
A police spokesperson said police took any incident involving "firearms or the threat of firearms extremely seriously and responds accordingly to keep the public safe".
"In any armed incident our first priority is to ensure the safety of our staff and the public - including any other emergency service personnel who may be attending.
"As the public would expect, when we receive emergency calls regarding firearms incidents, related threats or injuries, good practice is to not only dispatch appropriate medical assistance, but also a Police armed presence to ensure everyone's safety."
Other emergency services, including St John, would only enter once it was safe.
"If the offender's behaviour is such that lives are at immediate risk of harm, then police would adopt a tactical response in order to protect the lives of those at risk."
A St John spokesman said where there circumstances which pose a risk to the safety of St John staff, police were responsible for establishing conditions where St John can attend.
Meanwhile, another neighbour said many residents were still in shock this morning.
She said she heard a loud bang, after earlier hearing a loud argument out the front of the house.
She didn't feel safe in the area anymore and had only slept for about an hour.
The victim was a nice man who was always friendly and had worked on building the neighbouring apartments, she said.
Police will resume their forensic search of the house and property on Thursday.
Anyone who knows what happened at the house is asked to contact Hamilton Police on (07) 858 6200 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.