The Beach Haven man killed in a fatal assault is being remembered as the "kindest" and "nicest" person.
A karakia vigil was held on Sunday evening for 28-year-old Joshuah Tasi who was killed in a fatal assault in the North Shore suburb of Beach Haven on Friday night.
Two teenage boys - aged 17 and 14 - were arrested in the Far North on Saturday and charged with the murder of Tasi. They will appear in the North Shore Youth Court on Monday.
Emergency services were called after a crash at the intersection of Tramway and Beach Haven Rds on Friday night.
Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said there had been an "altercation" between the occupants of two cars, and Tasi had been assaulted and suffered fatal injuries.
The organiser of the karakia vigil Te Rata Hikairo told AM on Monday he was grateful for the aroha the Beach Haven community provided to Tasi's family since his death and at the karakia.
"Thank you to all of our whānau that came [to the karakia], hundreds of people came ... it was about prayer, it was about waiata, it was about being together and saying that Beach Heaven has got Beach Haven. It was quite something to be with the bereaved family at church yesterday morning," he told AM.
Hikario said despite the tragic assault, love is flowing through the Beach Haven community.
"People just came out immediately is what we're told. So some of our friends, some of our neighbours came out immediately and that just shows the Shore has got the Shore, Beach Haven has got Beach Haven, community has got community and aroha flowed," he said.
"Even in the face of something so tragic and so scary, aroha motivated the people to reach out to help him, call the police, call the ambulance and everything else, aroha motivated them and that's what flowed last night."
Hikario said the Beach Haven community is "wrapping around' the Tasi family to support them through this tragic time.
"This is a whānau that always smiles. This is a whānau that always helps, always loves, that goes above and beyond and some of the best singers I've ever heard in my life," Hikario told AM.
"All I can say is aroha to all of that whānau and Beach Haven will continue to wrap around them and the church will continue to wrap around them."
Local MP Shanan Halbert told Newshub last night's gathering was an opportunity for the community to come together.
"How we can do better for young people, what resources might be required, how we can work as community leaders and faith leaders and politicians to support young people and local families," he said.
"Beach Haven is our most vulnerable community on the North Shore and we've got to respond to that."
Watch the full interview with Te Rata Hikario above.
