AN apparent arson at a state house could be gang retaliation for the shooting of Wanganui baby Jhia Te Tua.
A fire broke out at the empty Akatea St house about 5.20am yesterday morning. Wanganui police Area Commander Duncan MacLeod said the incident could be linked to the shooting of baby Jhia because the Housing Corp house was associated with the Mongrel Mob.
Police allege the killing of baby Jhia on May 5 was related to rivalries between the Black Power and the Mongrel Mob.
"The house was vacant... Police attended and, as a result of our inquiries, we are treating it as a suspicious fire.
This could be related to retaliation, because the address has previous associations to the Mongrel Mob," Mr MacLeod said.
Detectives from Wanganui CIB and fire service investigators were examining the house yesterday to try to determine what started the fire.
"We are conducting our inquiries first and following through on any information we glean from that, or any possible witness sightings," Mr MacLeod said.
The possibility of further acts of retaliation couldn't be ruled out.
"That's a possibility we have to consider. Certainly I'm not going to dismiss [the fire] as a one-off," he said.
Mr MacLeod said he hoped anyone who had information about possible acts of retribution would contact police before an incident resulted in another death or injury.
The fire wouldn't change the security operation around Wanganui which has been in place since the fatal shooting.
"It doesn't change anything at all. We will continue with our operation, but we may reassess our staff numbers and locations within the city we are policing."
Armed police would continue until further notice, he said.
Meanwhile, four men arrested last week for events leading up to the shooting of baby Jhia were remanded in custody by consent until a pre-depositions hearing on June 11.
Their names and all details that could lead to their identification were suppressed.
Police carrying police-issue Bushmaster rifles guarded the Wanganui District Court and armed police searched cars for weapons.
Mr MacLeod said there were no incidents at the courthouse.
The inquiry team has been boosted to 50 officers, who are continuing to piece together the events of May 5, he said.
Wanganui Fire Brigade senior station officer Jes Sorensen told the Wanganui Chronicle the house was well alight when firefighters arrived.
"There were flames coming out every window," he said.
Two fire appliances attended and another was on standby.
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