Police hunting second suspect in Stokes Valley shootin
Photo:
RNZ / REECE BAKER
Hutt Valley Police are still searching for a second person they believe was involved in a shooting in Stokes Valley.
A 40-year-old Stokes Valley man was
shot outside his home
in Hanson Grove at 9am on 3 August.
He remains in a critical condition in Wellington Hospital's intensive care unit.
"The investigation team has been assisted greatly by the Lower Hutt community, who have provided a number of CCTV images of the vehicle suspected to have been involved in this incident, travelling to and from Stokes Valley around the time of the shooting," Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said.
Police believe two men drove to the victim's address in a purple Toyota Mark X station wagon with the registration KMW290.
"On their arrival the male passenger exited the vehicle, and moments later shot the victim," Ryan said.
"It is also alleged the victim was then driven over by the Toyota vehicle before the vehicle was driven out of the Stokes Valley area. The vehicle was located by police a short time later and is currently being forensically examined."
The passenger of the vehicle, a 25-year-old Taita man, was arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm earlier this month. He was due to reappear in the Lower Hutt District Court on Thursday.
"Police are making excellent progress on enquiries to identify and locate the second man in the vehicle - I am very confident we will identify him and hold him to account for his role in this incident," Ryan said.
"To help us do that, we are still seeking CCTV or dashcam footage from members of the Lower Hutt community - specifically anyone who may have CCTV or dashcam footage of the Toyota Mark X station wagon in the Stokes Valley, Naenae or Taita areas between 8.30am and 9.30am on Sunday, 3 August."
Ryan said CCTV footage that captured the Toyota Mark X station wagon and its occupants would be a crucial part of ensuring those responsible for critically injuring the victim were held accountable.
If you have information, contact police via 105 and quote file number 250803/0624. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
40 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Coward punch victims and families call for faster law changes
Taranaki man Ben Leng was given hours to live after a coward punch attack in New Plymouth. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive. Spread on his kitchen table in rural Taranaki are photos illustrating the impact of what he describes as "the worst day in his life". They are photos so harrowing he does not want to share them, but just get on with his life. In one, he is lying in a hospital bed in an induced coma after being blindsided by "sort of a coward's punch" thrown by New Plymouth bouncer Taylor Watkins in December last year. A coward punch, also known as a king hit, is a strike to the head or neck, often delivered from behind, usually unprovoked and without warning. Another photo shows the gaping wound where surgeons had earlier removed part of his skull to reduce swelling. The third image is a scan showing the titanium plates now keeping his skull together. The 29-year-old builder said following the assault his partner and his parents were told he only had hours to live if he did not get emergency surgery. "Flip of the coin really, it could've gone either way, and I'm definitely lucky. And it's a few things that are keeping me positive, and that's one of them, that I'm still here." Leng said the experience was toughest on those close to him. "My partner was seven months pregnant with our first child. My parents ... don't talk to Mum about it because she still gets moved by it. "It was the hardest thing they've had to go through in terms of seeing their son almost be a dad and then almost get taken away from them. That's probably the hardest thing that they could ever see." Leng, who is now focused on being the best dad and partner he could be, is joining calls for the faster introduction of new laws , including harsher penalties for coward punches. He will take part in a march in New Plymouth on Friday, organised by the family of Daniel Nganeko. The 37-year-old died after being punched outside the Tukapa Rugby clubrooms , in what police described as an unprovoked attack. His head struck the footpath. Daytona Thompson, 22, has been charged with manslaughter and was due to appear in court on the same day . Daniel Nganeko. Photo: Supplied Leng said on the night he was assaulted, 28 December, 2024, he and his brother Max and some rugby mates from England had been out drinking in New Plymouth. He admits he had been misbehaving and tried to enter a bar with a couple of pre-mixed drinks in his pocket and had been refused entry, then later got into a fight with security after trying to re-enter the bar to retrieve his mates after ditching his drinks. The police summary of facts said after the initial fight, Watkins and another bouncer followed the Leng brothers as they walked away from the bar and continued to argue with them. "Without warning the defendant swung a punch with a closed left fist hitting Leng in the jaw. Due to the nature of the punch Leng was unable to defend himself. "The punch caused Leng to immediately lose consciousness and drop to the ground. When he dropped to the ground, Leng's head impacted with the concrete paved ground with an audible sound." Watkins admitted a charge of injuring in circumstances that if death had occurred he would have been charged with manslaughter. Last week, he was sentenced to 12 months' home detention and ordered to pay $15,000 in reparations to Leng. After the attack, Leng was in a coma for seven days, followed by four days in ICU and two and a half weeks in a brain rehab centre. "I got taken straight to Taranaki Base Hospital, and then when they saw the severity of the brain injury ... I literally had 15 to 18 hours, which would have been death, unless I got surgery. So at 2am roughly, I got transferred via helicopter straight to Wellington, which put me straight into surgery." He remembers the surreal experience of waking from the coma. "No emotion, nothing. I just remember opening my eyes, seeing my parents at my feet with about four nurses, five nurses, and just thinking I was in a movie. "And not having any emotion because of the head injury, just numb, zero, nothing. Literally not panicked, nothing. It was just like my eyes were open, but nothing was working in my brain." Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin The once busy builder had not been able to work since the assault and was suspended from driving for six months. "In terms of like to get back to normal, it's still ongoing. So that could be a year, it could be two, it could be three. It's hard to know, really, it's just day by day, but the first two or three months were the biggest in terms of getting back to reality and figuring out what happened." Leng did not think Watkins' sentence reflected the nature of the offending, especially for someone supposed to be keeping people safe. "To be allowed to stay at home on 12 months home detention at the cost of taxpayers, I just don't think it suits the seriousness of his actions in terms of how close I came to death. "A coward's punch, a king hit, a sucker punch, whatever you want to call it, just shouldn't be accepted because more often than not, when someone can't defend themselves, the injuries are going to be a lot more severe." In June, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government would legislate to ensure coward punches were treated as a specific offence and sentences reflected the gravity of the crime. "We know how dangerous they are. People can be killed or suffer lifelong brain injuries, yet perpetrators often receive lenient and insufficient sentences," he said. The new legislation would include: The legislation fulfils part of National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First. The new criminal offences for coward punches were being introduced as part of a Crimes Act Amendment Bill which also included a specific offence for attacking a first responder, the new shoplifting infringement regime, strengthened trespass laws and strengthened human trafficking laws. Goldsmith aimed to introduce the Bill before the end of the year, and have it passed into law before the next general election. For Leng and the Nganeko family the law change could not come fast enough. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
40 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Mahurangi oyster saga: Watercare reveals vandalised pipe
An oyster farm in Mahurangi Harbour. Photo: Nick Monro The latest episode in the ongoing battle between oyster farmers in northern Auckland and Watercare has revealed an engineered overflow point may have been vandalised. Ten marine farms have been in a seven-year dispute with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the Mahurangi Harbour and contaminating their oyster crops. After each overflow, oyster harvesting was put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing for pathogens like Norovirus. The marine farmers have been unable to sell any locally grown oysters from the Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas, leaving them on the brink all year. This week about 40 people who work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour, worth nearly $10 million, were let go. In a statement titled "Vandalism" in response to questions around potential tampering of pipes in Warkworth, Watercare provided RNZ with a photo of the pipe in question which showed a blockage which they claimed was from expanding foam. "In early July we found that the engineered overflow point into the Mahurangi River near Elizabeth St had been blocked with expanding foam which caused overflows from nearby manholes. "This was removed by our crews. We have also found bolts missing from a manhole on Elizabeth St and last week replaced the manhole lid with one that is lockable and has a rubber seal," it said. RNZ put this information to some of the marine farmers in Mahurangi Harbour, who said they did not know who was responsible for the expanding foam or the missing bolts but did not believe it was a fellow oyster farmer. "Personally, I don't know of anyone that's blocked the pipe, and that's the honest truth," said Tom Walters of Matakana Oysters. He said there had been rumours circulating in Warkworth someone had been tampering with manholes and pipes. "I can imagine they think it was probably us that did it, but it doesn't matter, because it still goes into the river, it still flows downhill, and we're still gonna get closed because of it." Jim Aitken of Mahurangi Oysters said the culprit could be identified considering the engineered overflow point was in front of a local police station with CCTV. "I'd be very shocked and surprised if someone went out there to intentionally make the problem worse. If someone's just doing it because they're sick and tired of an organisation not doing their job, that's another thing entirely. "All I can really say is it sounds like instead of fighting, rushing to address and resolve this issue in a timely manner, Watercare is looking at every possible excuse to not fix it. "They're looking for every possible excuse to not accept fault, to not take on the responsibility they're supposed to be upholding to the ratepayers and they're now just looking for any sort of excuse to shift claim because if that is sabotage, it's an overflow point," said Aitken. Tom Walters of Matakana Oysters said despite the blockage being cleared and a temporary solution being applied to the overflow site on Elizabeth Street, it had not stopped the wastewater issue. "When it overflowed early in the morning last Friday, it was only about nine mils. "I turned up there at eight o'clock in the morning, a Downer guy is spraying the manholes because there was sewage that had come up from them. Not very much, but enough and they were spraying disinfectant around it. "So it still occurs, regardless of it being blocked or no," Walters said. Watercare has maintained it is being compliant in Warkworth. "Watercare is permitted to discharge wastewater at the Elizabeth Street overflow site under the Regional Network Discharge Consent (NDC), which allows for an average of 20.5 wet weather discharges per year (based on a five-year rolling average). "Watercare remains compliant with the consent. This reflects that we are on a journey to reduce overflows to an average of two or less per year at Elizabeth Street by investing in new infrastructure," a spokesperson said. A long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth is not expected until 2026. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
One dead after altercation in Awakeri, Bay of Plenty
Police cars parked in the carpark of Awakeri Hot Springs. Photo: Pūkāea A person is reportedly dead after a stabbing in the Bay of Plenty village of Awakeri. Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander inspector Nicky Cooney said at about 4.30pm police were called to the altercation between two people at a property on State Highway 30. Local news outlet Pūkāea understood the incident was a fatal stabbing. A police spokesperson said one person appeared to have received critical injuries. They said the person taken into custody is assisting police with their enquiries. No one else was being sought in relation to the incident. An unverified video on social media showed at least seven police cars parked in the carpark of Awakeri Hot Springs. Calls to the hot springs went unanswered. Awakeri is a village located southwest of Whakatāne. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
