Two hurt by shotgun

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 1

Two hurt by shotgun

Two young men are in Ashburton Hospital, one with a serious arm wound and the other with two shotgun pellets lodged in his abdominal wail, after an incident at a party in Ashburton in which a shotguh was discharged about 1 a.m.

yesterday. Christchurch armed offenders squad members, and other reinforcements, were called to assist the Ashburton police in dealing with the incident, said the officer in charge of the Ashburton police (SeniorSergeant P. Brady). A man was arrested and will appear in court this morning. The victims of the shooting are Paul James Gibson, of Ashburton, who suffered

the severe arm wound, and

Nicholas Jan Yeatman, aged 18, of Hinds, who suffered the minor abdominal injury. Hospital authorities said Mr Gibson’s injury was serious but his general condition was satisfactory. The wound, to his left arm, was very large. He was operated on after his admission. Mr Yeatman’s condition is

satisfactory, and he is likely to be discharged today. Mr Brady said no other person was being sought in connection with the incident. The scene of the shooting was an old, wooden house in Tancred Street. It is situated between Woodham’s Building, which houses the Ministry of Transport, other Government departments, and shops, and

the Ashburton St John Ambulance Brigade headquarters. Yesterday, a trail of blood was visible from the front gate of the house, along the footpath, and on to the roadway to a car-parking space, near Woodham’s Building and nearly 20 yards from the house gateway. Glass from broken beer bottles was evident along the street frontage to the house, and inside the front fence of the property.

Nearby residents said there

was a "large crowd at the party, and cars were parked for some distance along the street. A loud blast which residents considered must have been the shotgun was heard shortly before 1 a.m. A police dog and van were at the scene until about 8 a.m.