A police decision to only identify two men sought as part of a south Auckland homicide investigation as Tongan has left all men from that community feeling like suspects, a community leader says.
Detectives launched a homicide investigation yesterday after the body of a 28-year-old man was found on Greenwood Rd in Mangere about 6am.
A woman found alive lying next to him had been shot several times. She is being treated in Auckland Hospital and has spoken to police.
Police released a statement saying they were looking for two men. The only description they gave was that they were Tongan, with no context as to why their ethnicity was the only detail worth sharing.
Melino Maka from the Tongan Advisory Council told Newshub he's disappointed with police for identifying the men only as Tongan, saying it makes people fearful of Tongans and makes all Tongan men feel like suspects.
In a statement to Newshub, police said they deliberately select information they share with the public during an investigation as releasing certain information could jeopardise the case.
"Every piece of information released is there for a reason. For operational reasons we are unable to go into the decision-making behind what information we choose to release at this stage in our ongoing investigation."
Meanwhile, the man's body has been removed from the scene and a cordon blocking Greenwood Rd has been lifted.
Forensics teams were at the site until about 7pm on Tuesday.
Greenwood Rd is in a rural area right on the edge on an industrial zone.
Local business owner Chris Olsen told Newshub he isn't surprised by the incident as the area is known for gangs.
"A year ago two cars collided [near Greenwood Rd] and two guys jumped out. They ran around to the boot of one of the cars and dragged this guy out of the boot and dragged him around the corner. Then they just took off in their car."
Mr Olsen says people often drive down Greenwood Rd to dump rubbish or take drugs, as it's dark and quiet in the evenings.
"We've had a lot of problems out here," he said.
Another local business owner saw three people standing beside two cars on Greenwood Rd about 9pm last night. He reportedly said he thought it was odd at the time as it was raining heavily.
Newshub understands the man and woman are a Tongan couple who have a young son.
The victims' identities haven't been released, although police are expected to speak to media later today.
Newshub.
