Gang and neighbours in row

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 9

Gang and neighbours in row

The police are continuing inquiries into a confrontation between Devil’s Henchmen Motor-cycle Club members and their Ferry Road neighbours early on Saturday in which a number of shots are believed to have been fired. The incident began about 1.40 a.m. and ended an hour later when the police used their van to pull out sheets of corrugated iron fencing. A police spokesman said last evening that they visited the scene when an altercation between the occupants of the two houses became a conflict. He said two cars were damaged in the incident, and one of the houses was damaged. A number of people were taken to the police inquiry office for questioning after the incident. The spokesman said the inquiry office would have difficulty in establishing who committed the offences, as all the obvious culprits had “decamped” by the time the police arrived. He said no arrest had been made. Three windows in the house next door were smashed and two cars were damaged — one belonging to a gang member and one which stopped outside the neighbouring property.

Sean Unwin, aged 16. who lived in the house next to the gang property, said the incident began when one of the gang members came into the Unwin family’s back yard and walked into his brother's sleepout. After an argument the gang member was told to leave but he threw a beer bottle. "They started biffing bricks, rocks, and bars and my brother and I threw them back," said Sean Unwin. He said that when he saw about four gang members fighting with his brother he threw a spear at one and tried to help his brother. “A whole lot more of them came out with bars and things so my brother took off and I came inside." Sean Unwin said that about four or five shots were fired during the incident and one bullet went through his kitchen window. He said the incident arose out of the gang’s dislike of Maoris. Three girls were inside the house when the windows were smashed and there were also two girls in the car which was damaged when it pulled up outside the Unwins’ house. No-one was injured.