10 Jun 2019

Man dead from gunshot wounds in Waikato named

2:25 pm on 10 June 2019

A 23-year-old man who died of gunshot wounds in rural Waikato last week has been named.

Police at Hauturu School, where the shooting victims ended up.

Four people who were shot in rural Waikato on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Jordan Bond

He was Faalili Moleli Fauatea from Auckland.

Three other men, aged 28, 23 and 20, who also received gunshot wounds have been arrested and charged with aggravated burglary. They were airlifted to hospital with moderate injuries.

The men were found injured about 4am last Thursday in rural Hauturu, about an hour west of Hamilton.

One local, who works nearby, said the victims fled to the nearest residence for help, which was Hauturu School.

"They ended up at the school, that was the closest house to where the first crime scene was," he told RNZ last week.

"The school teacher lives in the schoolhouse. I'd say the teacher and her husband would've been very, very scared to get a bash on the door at 4 o'clock in the morning. You don't expect that sort of stuff."

A 37-year-old man has been charged with the possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.

A homicide investigation is ongoing. No one else is sought in relation to this incident and police said there was no further risk to the community.

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