Police are seeking witnesses after a 20 year-old man was shot near the eye with an air-pistol on his way home from Gisborne.
The man and his friends were driving back to Auckland's North Shore yesterday afternoon, after attending the Rhythm and Vines Festival.
Around midday they were travelling along State Highway 2, from Gisborne to Opotiki, through the Waioeka Gorge. About half way along they stopped in a rest area because one of the passengers was feeling unwell.
The driver got out of the car and was standing beside the vehicle.
As a line of traffic drove past, a person in the passenger seat of a dark-coloured SUV pointed an air-pistol at the driver and his car. He shot the car and then pointed the air gun and shot at the driver. The pellet hit the 20 year-old man and became lodged in the tissue just beneath his eye.
The victim is in hospital in a stable condition and will undergo surgery to remove the pellet.
The person who shot the air gun is described as a white male with light or ginger hair. The offender was heard to laugh as they continued driving off.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or saw similar behaviour around this time and location is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Steven Pivac at the North Shore Police on 09 477 5000. Information can also be provided anonymously to the organisation Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Issued by Beth Bates/Waitemata Police