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A 31-year-old has been charged with murder after a man died in an "altercation" at Waikanae Beach, sparking a homicide investigation.
The man will appear in the Porirua District Court on Wednesday on a charge of murder.
Police said they were called to Napier Grove about 4:20pm on Tuesday, where they found a seriously hurt man after a fight.
"Despite receiving urgent medical attention, he died at the scene a short time later," police said.
A post-mortem exam on the man is set to be carried out on Thursday.
A local, who RNZ has agreed not to name, said she and her neighbours were worried after seeing and hearing all the lights and sirens - and she was shocked to learn someone had died.
"People were coming out on the street to have a look, and people were really concerned as to what was going on, because no one has been told.
"With all that attention by the different services, it would seem that something very serious had taken place."
Once the sirens had died down, everything seemed very calm, she said.
"It was just a quiet, real, genuine feeling of concern about what had gone on."
No one seemed to have seen or heard anything, and the house where she believed the person was killed was tucked down a long driveway that could not be seen from the street, she said.
The community was home to a variety of people, she said.
"I like the area because it's what I call a mixed area.
"Some people rent, some people own, some people have money, some people haven't got money, but it doesn't matter because we all say hello to each other."
Police had been guarding the address overnight, and a scene examination would take place in the coming days, they said.