Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) officers from Napier are being sent to Wairoa in northern Hawke's Bay as police seek to keep a lid on rival gang tensions after a shooting in the town.
The officers will relieve a Gisborne AOS contingent that has been in Wairoa since soon after a confrontation in which a 20-year-old Black Power member was shot in the face.
Police say his injuries are not considered life-threatening and no one else was injured. The man has undergone surgery at Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings for the removal of bullet fragments.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Scott says police are mindful of the potential for an escalation in gang tensions between Black Power and Mongrel Mob members.
There have been a number of recent minor skirmishes between Mongrel Mob and Black Power gangs in the town.
Two Black Power members, aged 18 and 24, who were spoken to about Thursday night's shooting, were charged on Friday with the aggravated robbery of a Wairoa dairy last month.
