Police have confirmed the Killer Beez and Tribesmen gangs were behind the spate of Auckland shootings overnight.
Counties Manukau district commander Jill Rogers confirmed the seven shootings overnight in Auckland were gang-related involving the two gangs.
"We believe so, from the information that we have been able to put together, the address which have been subject to shootings have in the past had previous gang links to them," Rogers said.
But concerningly, at least two of the properties hit in the shootings have no ties to any gangs, which Rogers says " heightens the concern we have about this behaviour".
Rogers said high powered rifles were used in the shootings.
"I do believe that a number of these weapons that have been used are high powered rifles and that causes immense concern to us," she said.
"When we are talking about addresses that have no links to criminal activity anymore, the risk that these escalating incidents pose is enormous."
She said a district-wide order was made on Tuesday night for all officers to be armed but only expects that to be in place for "a short period of time".
The Counties Manukau area has seen a spike in shootings over the past week, but Rogers knows more are going unreported.
"To date, we know there have been 12 incidents across Counties Manukau alone since Sunday, but that's only the offences reported to us," she said.
"But sadly, there seems to be an acceptance within our community that gun violence is acceptable. We know that the are more offences that have occurred, and we encourage the community to come forward and tell us about this activity before a life is lost."
Rogers said the police are considering trying to broker a peace agreement between the two gangs.
"We've had success with that in the past and we have a role to play in the reinforcement and reassurance to our community but there is also a big part the community to play," she said.
"We saw some success with that the last time that these tensions elevated around November 2020, and in that case, a resolution was brokered by parties in the community.
"We are hoping to do that again and I can reassure the community we are working really hard to identify those people, who will engage with those parties who are involved with this."
Rogers' message to the Aucklanders is that they're committed to holding the people behind the shootings to account.
"This is frightening for our communities, and that's why I can assure the community that we are committed to holding those people to account that took part in this abhorrent, high-risk behaviour," she said.
"I can assure you, you will see people held to account over that. They can expect to see an increased police presence of our staff in the areas, and will involve a range of decisions and tactical options that we have available to us over the coming days."
The seven shootings which occurred overnight in Auckland were in Ōtara, Papatoetoe, Flat Bush, Papakura, Te Atatū, Henderson and Mt Albert.
The first four were between around 6:40pm and 7:40pm and the incident in Te Atatū was reported around 9:20pm on Tuesday evening.
Acting Inspector Terry Lee said in a statement on Tuesday no one had been injured, but several houses were damaged.
Two further shootings happened early on Wednesday morning, with one on a street in Mt Albert and the second on Rathgar Road in Henderson.
This article was amended on May 25 because the headline stated 'All Auckland cops to be armed'. Police say it was just a brief period over Tuesday night police in the district were armed.
