An altercation over money occurred before a person was shot dead inside a car north of Auckland on Saturday night, Newshub has been told.
The incident near Wellsford has shocked locals, who say the rural town is usually quiet.
Emergency services were called to Wayby Station Rd at 7:45pm after reports someone in a vehicle had suffered a gunshot wound. However, police are remaining tight-lipped over details of the shooting.
Locals who live nearby told Newshub the event was extremely unusual for the area.
"I'm surprised and it's quite a rural area and we're not used to this," one said.
"It's just unusual for here. It's not normally something you get round here," another said.
Police have now released a statement saying they want to speak with anyone who has seen a black Range Rover vehicle in Rodney or Northland in the last few days, with the number plate KBK990.
Neighbours shared some details of Saturday's incident, telling Newshub they did see an unfamiliar car parked on the road.
Despite police releasing little details about exactly what happened, locals in this area have told Newshub that before gunshots rang out, they heard a person on the road yelling, "where's my money" multiple times.
There are also reports of police vehicles headed north towards Kaiwaka a short time after the shooting.
Police say there's no indication the shooting is linked to gangs or related to any other case.
Police hope to identify the victim after a post-mortem examination is conducted on Monday.
