A Ponsonby businessman says he's never seen anything like Sunday night's dramatic fatal shooting in the area, describing Ponsonby Rd in Auckland as "a happy place" for patrons.
A man was shot dead about 10:15pm on Sunday, with police now looking for a man allegedly involved. Police released a photograph of the suspect on Monday.
Ponsonby Central owner Andy Davies told Newshub it was believed to have been a drive-by shooting.
"The guy was out on the street and a car pulled up and we've heard a couple of things then whoever shot took off on foot we heard," he said.
"Police are looking for cameras and stuff."
Davies said the community was "in shock" that the crime happened in their area.
"It's not good, it's not good that this stuff is happening anywhere but let alone on Ponsonby Road - we're meant to be a happy street, people come for dinners and drinks and stuff," he said.
"You get the fights and stuff but that's just people drinking and stuff like that… this doesn't happen on Ponsonby Road."
Davies has been working in the area for 40 years and said he's "never seen anything" like this shooting.
He described Ponsonby Central as a venue "full of families".
However, Davies added that Ponsonby nightlife was getting later, with more bars popping up. He said if patrons were still out at 1 or 2am then venues would open to accommodate them, especially in the current financial climate.
Davies said hospitality was "going through it" so the road closure following a police investigation was just "something else" businesses there had to contend with.
"This recession is really, really hard, really hard."
Detective Inspector Chris Barry, Auckland City CIB, said police don't know what the motivation was for the shooting. He added that it was "difficult to say" if it was gang-related.
The alleged offender was denied entry to a bar.
