South Auckland double homicide: Shooting triggers police manhunt

A South Auckland community has woken to the aftermath of a fatal shooting that left two people dead and sparked a major police response.

Police are continuing to search for the person or people responsible after a woman and a man were found dead at a property on Gambare Place in Wattle Downs on Thursday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the address at about 1.45pm after reports of an unresponsive woman.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. During a search of the property, police found a man who was also pronounced dead.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va'aelua said that the offender or offenders fled before police arrived.

“While this appears to be an isolated incident at this stage, we are unable to rule anything out," he said. “This is an awful set of events and no doubt unsettling for everyone involved and the wider community.”

Counties Manukau Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va'aelua says police are looking for the person or people believed responsible for the deaths. Photo/RNZ/Marika Khabazi

Residents described hearing gunshots in the neighbourhood.

Gambare Place resident Dianna Kereopa-Turner told RNZ she had just returned from the dairy with family when “havoc started going on” outside.

“We thought it was our nail gun for our sleepout that we're building going off ... and then it was quite loud,” she said. “But no, it was shooting. All we heard was gun. Then my sister came out of her room and said 'somebody out there's shooting', so we gathered in whoever was loose around the house and stayed inside.”

Armed police at the Wattle Downs scene after a man and woman were found dead at a Gambare Place property. Photo/RNZ/Marika Khabazi

Kereopa-Turner said the incident had shocked the neighbourhood because the people involved had only recently moved into the property.

“It's sad to know that whatever trouble was following them, obviously followed them right to the doorstep. And unfortunately it happened on this street where there's a lot of kids and a lot of elderly people. It's a shock to the system."

Two nearby schools, Te Haikura a Kiwa and Leabank Primary School, were placed into lockdown as police responded.

Caroline McLeod, the Leabank principal, later said in a social media post that everyone at the school had responded well.

“Everyone did extremely well and responded to instructions,” she said.

Police officers at the scene in Wattle Downs as they examine the property and work to establish what happened. Photo/RNZ/Marika Khabazi

The police cordons have since been lifted but officers remain at the scene as the investigation continues.

South Auckland is home to large Pasifika communities, with Pacific people making up nearly one-third of the population in some parts of Manukau, according to StatsNZ.

Police have not released the identities of the two people who died.

Anyone with information that could help police is asked to contact 105.

Listen to South Auckland councillor and former police officer Alf Filipaina's full interview on a proposed 'three-strikes' policy on crime.