Invercargill shooting - statement from media advisory

To be attributed to Superintendent Paul Basham, Southern District Commander:
 
A 47-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman in Invercargill last night
 
He has also been charged with attempted murder in relation to the second victim.
 
The charges were laid at a court hearing which took place at Southland Hospital in Invercargill this afternoon.
 
I can confirm that the man charged is Constable Ben Mclean, an Invercargill based Police officer who was off-duty at the time of the incident last night. 
 
Police were called to an address on Otepuni Avenue, Newfield at 8.19pm last night.
 
A woman was found dead at the address, and a man was found wounded with gunshot wounds. He is in a stable condition in hospital.
 
The man charged presented himself to Invercargill Police station a short time after the shooting last night. He is receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the incident.
 
The man and the deceased woman were known to each other.
 
We are confident we know the identity of the victim, however we are unable to release her name right now until the formal identification process has been completed, which is likely to be tomorrow. 
 
This is obviously a huge tragedy for everyone involved.
 
We are dealing with three different families who have been affected and providing all necessary support to them. 
 
We are also supporting Police staff in Invercargill who are naturally very shocked at what has occurred.
 
Our priority is to ensure that everyone receives the necessary support, and that a thorough, impartial investigation is carried out. 
 
The investigation is still in its early stages. It involves around 30 staff who are both local and from out of district. It also involves specialist forensic staff from Auckland and Christchurch.
 
We must also ensure that we protect the court process which is to come, and that the individual involved is afforded the same rights as any other member of the public. 
 
While I understand the high level of interest in this tragedy, this matter is now before the court. 
 
For that reason I am constrained on the information I can provide as we always are on matters which are before the court and still under investigation.
 
The investigation has been ongoing throughout the day, including a scene examination at Otepuni Avenue. 
 
Police have also been talking to witnesses and those with information as investigators piece together the events which occurred last night.
 
A firearm was recovered at the scene, which was not a police issued weapon.
 
I fully understand the shock this tragedy has caused, both within police and the wider community in Southland.
 
This is a one-off event and we cannot recall a similar tragedy like this in recent times to allegedly involve a serving police officer. 
 
However we are committed to being professional and diligent in our focus is to understand exactly what has happened. 
 
I urge anyone with information which could help us to contact police. 
 
ENDS