Gang shoot-out erupts at rugby

Press, 16 June 1986, Page 1

Gang shoot-out erupts at rugby

PA Te Teko The Eastern Bay of Plenty town of Te Teko was quiet yesterday after four persons, including a girl, aged 12, were shot in a gang brawl at a rugby ground on Saturday. A Whakatane police spokesman yesterday confirmed that three Black .Power gang members who had been shot in the incident were in a “not serious" condition at Whakatane Hospital. The girl did not need hospital treatment. The brawl began at 4.30 p.m. after the annual rugby match between Paroa and Te Teko when

more than 20 Black Power members tried to leave the rugby ground. Mongrel Mob members carrying two sawn-off firearms, clubs, and machetes blocked their path, bystanders said. The police later identified the firearms as a shotgun and a .22 calibre rifle.

Bystanders said mothers threw themselves over children to protect them from the shots.

"People were running in all directions — it was absolute chaos," one said.

Battens were ripped off a nearby fence and used as weapons. One Black Power man

was shot in the arm, one in the chest, and the other in the shoulder. The girl was grazed on the shoulder by shotgun pellets.

The “New Zealand Times” newspaper reported that the town was tense on Saturday evening with people milling about in the main street. The police spokesman said things appeared to have settled down yesterday and they had not received any calls. A Ngaruawahia man, aged 34, was arrested and would appear in the District Court at Whakatane today on charges relating to the incident; the police spokesman said.