August 08, 2023
Shootings test new gun laws
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says police now have the tools they need to deal with a spate of incidents involving illegal firearms.
A man was killed and another injured in a shooting in central Auckland last Thursday, and there was another gun killing at the weekend in Point England.
Police are also investigating a fatal shooting in Palmerston North which they say was gang related.
Mr Hipkins says changes cutting down on illegal firearms has been a focus for the Government since it took office, and particularly since the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
“The establishment of a more robust licensing regime and the firearms register which is now being populated – licensed and law-abiding firearm owners are able to enter their firearms into the register now – these things will give Police a significant head start addressing these types of offending,” he says.