Two in custody after man shot dead

Two men are in police custody after a fatal shooting in a small rural settlement on the East Coast last night.

A 50-year-old man died in the incident at a property on the main street of Te Araroa, 42km north east of Ruatoria. His name will not be released until all family have been notified.

Police say the victim arrived at the property with five or six other men just after 7pm last night. Shots were fired which resulted in the death of the victim, who died at the scene.

Two men from the property then ran into a bush area near the settlement carrying firearms. The Gisborne AOS was called in to search for the two.

Later in the night one of the suspects gave himself up to police. The second suspect was found in the area by armed police just before 3am today. Both were arrested without incident and are in custody at the Gisborne police station. Charges are yet to be laid.

Detective Inspector Rob Jones said the incident involved gang members and associates.

“We have a number of staff investigating this, including a team from ESR in Auckland. We are also in the very early stages of the investigation, so there is not a lot of information available at this time. The circumstances of the shooting will be revealed as we progress through the inquiry,” Mr Jones said.

“We are speaking to a number of potential witnesses, however if anyone has any information about the shooting we are keen to speak to them so they can ring Gisborne Police on 06 8690200.”

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