Former gang leader says that it’s inevitable an innocent person will get caught up in gang violence. His comments come after five people were shot in a gang incident in Whāngarei last week. It’s the third gang shooting in Whangārei in four months, two of which were fatal.
Martin Kaipos says, "When do we start addressing the issues, when someone actually dies? We've already had two deaths in the community and it doesn't matter where it is, our families are involved in some way or another or we're turning a blind eye to these incidents where violence is escalating. It’s a major concern it’s just inevitable that the time will come where innocent parties will get caught up in it."
The former Black Power leader who now manages Te Hau Awhiowhio o Otangarei social services, says the gang culture he knew no longer exists, "You still had that respect for the community when we had deaths or we had functions. We knew what to do, we knew how to gather we knew how to awhi whānau. Those things are almost obsolete, so it’s very concerning. There’s always going to be concerns of turf. There’s always going to be concerns about business and business can relate to drug use or drug distribution so these are all issues that the community aren't addressing."
While police were not available to comment today on the third serious firearm related incident in Whangārei in the last four months, of which two were fatal. There is rising concern over increased accessibility of firearms.
Martin Kaipo says, "It was just lucky that the incident happened at night. But it’s getting quite blatant they're prepared to use violence or open warfare during the day while the public are around. So you know it’s escalated to another level."