Police say the issue of gun violence is not just confined to a single region.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
There is concern in Auckland about an increase in shootings.
In the latest, a homicide investigation was launched after an armed standoff at a house in the suburb of Flat Bush.
And two people are on the run after a fatal shooting in Mt Roskill on Thursday.
Auckland mayor Phil Goff has said he raised the issue of the city's gun violence with Police Minister Poto Williams.
Goff said the number of gun crimes in the region was undermining its residents' right to feel safe.
In a statement, Assistant Police Commissioner Sandra Venables said police had no tolerance for gun violence in the community and significant arrests had been made in relation to gang tensions.
"Police has been very open this year around some of the behaviours from organised crime groups using firearms against one another and we also note significant arrests have been made in relation to these gang tensions," she said.
"Police have also seen excellent results following the launch of Operation Tauwhiro. As of September, 987 firearms had been seized, nearly $5 million in cash seized and 865 arrests made."
She said the eyes and ears of people in the community could provide important help and she was encouraging people to report suspicious or illegal activity.
"The issue of firearms within our communities is not just confined to a single region. Police are generally concerned at the prevalence of firearms being used within certain groups in our society."
There has been a 49 percent increase in injuries recorded as a result of firearms crime in Auckland city over the past year and a half, compared with the two years previous.
The rates of gun crime in 2020 were the highest ever.
National Party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said it was a tragedy to see gun violence happening in New Zealand on an almost daily basis and the government was largely to blame.
"The government in large part is responsible because they haven't given any clear guidance or provided political will that's required to say let's go after these gangs and make sure we start to purge them out of our communities."
The government needed to dedicate more resource and put new legislations in place to make it easier for police to seize illegal weapons, Mitchell said.
The government said it was doing a lot to adress the issue including training more police officers, conducting targeted operations, and changing legislation.