Photo: RNZ / Chris Bruce
A shooting has left one person dead and another with serious injuries in remote Coromandel.
Police said they were called to The 309 Road just after 2pm, where two people were found with gunshot wounds.
One person was arrested and charges were being considered, police said. They were not seeking anyone else.
RNZ understands police are likely to charge a person overnight following the shooting.
A former army medic who gave CPR to one of the victims confirmed the men involved were pig hunters.
The man, who asked not to be named, told Checkpoint one man died and one man was airlifted to hospital with gunshot wounds following the incident.
He said 120 children were also onsite celebrating the end of the school year.
Listen to the man who gave CPR to one of the victims speak to RNZ:
"I was serving customers in my little business here when someone came running in and said they heard gun shots ... grabbed my first aid kit and took off."
In a past life he was an army medic, he said.
The man said he found an injured man near the edge of his property and he put him in the recovery position and got a compression bandage for what looked like a gunshot wound before starting CPR.
The cordon on The 309 Rd south of Coromandel Town on the Coromandel Peninsula near the scene of today’s shooting. Photo: RNZ / Natalie Akoorie
"Another resident (turned up) and between us we both did CPR for 20 minutes until the Wesptac helicopter arrived and pronounced him dead, and that's when we stopped stopped doing CPR....
"Whilst I was giving CPR, the local policeman arrived, offered a more extensive first aid kit than I had, and then shortly after there was an abundance of police, the local fire service, St John's, and very quickly, two Westpac rescue helicopters."
There was a second man, who appeared to be a "young lad" in his 20s, the man told Checkpoint, who had a gunshot wound to the upper chest.
After he "exited the situation" he saw the young man "on a gurney being treated by the Westpac service personnel".
He said it was pretty clear the pair had been pig hunters as there was a dead pig nearby "with half its entrails hanging out".
While there had been children onsite, the man said he did not think they would have see anything as they left through a different exit on the property.
Crew are transporting a patient to Auckland City Hospital from the Coromandel following a shooting incident this afternoon. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Rescue
Westpac rescue helicopter told RNZ crew were transporting a patient to Auckland City Hospital from the Coromandel following a shooting incident this afternoon.
A St John spokesperson confirmed one person had been airlifted to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.
The spokesperson said they were notified just before 2pm and one ambulance, one first responders unit and two helicopters attended.
"This is all the information we can provide, please refer to police for further details."
Police said in a statement "The 309 Road is currently closed and members of the public are advised to avoid the area.
"More information will be released when we are in a position to do so."
The 309 Road is described by the Coromandel Town website as one that "takes you on a journey through dense bushland with lots of surprise stops to make along the road".
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