Partygoers tried to keep victim alive
Friends and family tried desperately to help Rawiri Zane Wharerau as he lay dying outside his house after he was shot at a family birthday party.
Despite the efforts to save him, the 39-year-old died in the early hours of last Saturday morning outside his George St, Stokes Valley home from gunshot wounds.
Not much is known about the events leading up to Wharerau’s death, just that an argument at the 50th birthday party spilled out onto the street, where the shooting took place.
Wharerau’s brother, who police have chosen not to name, was also shot. He is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
At a police press conference yesterday, Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said the police wanted the people who had attended the gathering to come forward.
“They will know what’s happened and can answer that for us.”
Addressing the attendees directly, Ryan said she was asking for them to speak with police “sooner rather than later”.
Ryan said it was still unknown as to what sparked the argument, which is why police encouraged the people who had attended the gathering to come forward.
There may exist video footage of the shooting. The detective inspector could not answer whether it or any other information was being withheld deliberately.
Ryan said the information may be withheld due to fear of offending friends who
were grieving for Wharerau.
Police have already spoken to several people who attended the party.
“Our team remains committed to locating the person or persons responsible for this violent incident and bringing them before the courts.”
Police have stressed the shooting was not “gang-related”, despite Wharerau being a patched member of the Mangu Kaha gang.
Ryan said there was no fear of any gang retaliation or tensions. She said the fact that Wharerau was a member of the Mangu Kaha gang was a coincidental factor in the shooting. “This is a birthday celebration that's ended up in an argument or altercation that has spilled out onto the street. Not everyone at that party was a gang member.
“There is no ongoing believed threat. We’re doing reassurance patrols, we’ve upped the number of staff in that area, just to provide that reassurance to the community.”