Naenae homicide: Hunt continues for shooter

A resident near the scene of a fatal shooting of a man believed to be a former gang boss in Lower Hutt says she heard shouted threats before a gunshot.

A man, reportedly former gang president Albert "Alby" Enoka, was shot and killed in Naenae.

Denise Topp said she ran inside after she heard the shot and looked out her window to see police trying to revive the man in the street.

"All of a sudden I could hear this fulla swearing and carrying on. He goes: 'I'm gonna get you, you m*********r, I'm going to waste you'. Then it stopped and all of a sudden I heard this gunshot so I took off inside," Topp said.

The neighbourhood was "quiet as" the next day, she said.

"I think a lot of the damage was done yesterday but no, quiet as now. Hopefully it will stay that way. Too close to Christmas."

Topp said she'd never experienced anything like yesterday's events in her life.

"That freaked me out. The fact that there's gangs living in the street surround by kids and they've got weapons, we're surrounded by children," she said.

"Imagine if the kids had have been running around when he did that... It's not right. He could've missed that guy and shot a kid."

Topp said people in the neighbourhood were dealing with the shooting "in their own way".

A manhunt is now under way.

All police in Wellington have been armed during the manhunt.

Police say they are not yet able to name the man in his late 30s who died , but say he had links to gangs.

Family social posts and media reports say he was Albert "Alby" Enoka.

Relatives have paid tribute to Enoka on social media.

According to court documents, Enoka was a former president of the Rebels Motorcyle Club's Christchurch chapter.

He was a current patched member of the Tribesmen when he died, Stuff reports.

Court documents showed Enoka was found guilty of kidnapping, burglary, violent behaviour, and drug and firearm possession over four days in February 2015.

Wearing a Rebels gang vest and balaclava and armed with a six inch knife, he attacked his partner who he suspected had cheated on him, the documents said.

"Mr Enoka punched her in the face, pulled her hair, verbally abused her and threw her into the car."

He also attacked the man he thought she was cheating on him with, holding a knife to his throat, and punched him twice in the mouth, breaking his teeth and fracturing his jaw.

At the High Court in Christchurch in 2017 he was sentenced to ten years in prison, but appealed that sentence in 2018 on the grounds that it was "manifestly excessive".

That reduced his sentence by 18 months.

The offender is about 30 years old and described as large with full facial tattoos. He was wearing dark clothing and was with at least two associates.

"He hasn't acted alone in this... I fully expect he's being helped," Detective Inspector John Van Den Heuvel said.

"We believe those involved had gang affiliations are are known to each other."

Police say while people should not approach the man on the run, that they do not believe there is a risk to the wider public.

Police are wanting sightings of a black 2008 Mercedes with the number plate KRP453, which they believe offenders used to get away. The vehicle was recovered by police.

An armed police officer guarding the scene of a shooting in the Lower Hutt suburb of Naenae. Photo: RNZ / Bill Hickman

Armed police remained at the scene on Wednesday morning.

Residents on their way home from work and school on a hot Tuesday afternoon were met with police tape, cars with flashing lights, and armed officers telling them Seddon Street was shut.

It was blocked off completely between Wheatley Street and Waddington Grove, but a walkway through Naenae Park offered a closer glimpse of the scene.

About 20 people - some neighbours, and others who had come for a look - were gathered at the corner of Waddington Grove near the dairy and fish and chip shop, discussing what happened, and watching police, paramedics and fire and emergency staff go about their jobs.

A white tarp covered a shape in the middle of the street.

Neighbours agreed crime was a normal part of life in the neighbourhood - but it was a worry to learn someone had died, and that killer could be on the loose.

Tape was strung across a row of about five houses, and two ambulances were parked outside. About a dozen armed officers were patrolling the cordon, and investigators were speaking to neighbours.

A neighbour told RNZ he had heard shouting and looked out his window to see a man lying in the road.

The people in the house had only been at the address for a few weeks, he said, and there had been fights and conflict there.

Another local person said he had rushed to help a nurse who stopped to give assistance to the the injured man, and gave his T-shirt to her as she tried to staunch the bleeding.

He said he saw no evidence of gang membership on the man who succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene.

Earlier a resident said the neighbourhood was quiet, but had its share of petty crime, and the property was a "known party house" with "gang-related stuff in there".

Investigators were loading equipment into the property, RNZ's reporter at the scene said.

Traffic outside the house was building up as locals slowed to look down the cordoned off driveway, and local children were riding their bikes past the scene on their way to school.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.