A 33-year-old man had a shotgun held to his head in front of his child by gang members at a Whakatane intersection on January 17.
Police say he was forced to stop when a silver four-door sedan pulled in front of his car at the Churchill Street and Lord Cobham Avenue intersection.
Three men wearing bandanas over their faces confronted him, demanding to know what he was doing in the neighbourhood.
One of the men produced a double barrelled shotgun and held it to the victim’s head, before they returned to their car and left.
The man had just picked his child up from a care giver after finishing work when the incident happened.
For a completely innocent man and his child to be the subject of threats and intimidation by gang members, especially when the threats involved a gun being held to his head, is unacceptable. Police are determined to find those responsible," says Detective Senior Sergeant John Wilson of Bay of Plenty Police.
"Likewise, those involved in the earlier incidents in Valley and Arawa Roads where shots were fired and the lives of innocent bystanders put at risk need to be identified."
Police are investigating whether this incident was related to a gang standoff earlier that day when the Mongrel Mob and Black Power clashed over a funeral procession.
Gun shots were fired as gang members attempted to stop their rivals from entering the town, and several arrests were made as police tried to contain the violence.
Watch the moment gunshots ring out during the Whakatane stand-off, sending people running for cover:
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact Whakatane Police on 07 308 5255 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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