Police are asking for sightings of anyone acting suspiciously in a Porirua street where a police dog was shot and killed, after the house where it happened was set alight.
The house on Kokiri Cres was well ablaze when the police and Fire Service were called to the scene around 10:45pm yesterday.
Firefighters were able to put the fire out a short time later and a scene examination is now underway.
No one was inside at the time, and there were no injuries.
Last month at the house, Pita Tekira shot and killed police dog Gazza as armed police searched the property looking for him. A police officer jumped from a second storey window to escape Tekira on April 22. The officer suffered fractures as a result.
Tekira, who was wanted on a number of charges, was found dead in a nearby house following an overnight standoff.
Police and fire investigators say the cause of the fire won't be known until their investigations are completed.
In the meantime, they want to hear from anyone who was in the area around 10pm last night and saw any suspicious behaviour.
Simon Paul, a next-door neighbour, was in his sitting room when his son came to tell him the house was on fire -- by then it was already well ablaze.
He says the house was still being lived in.
"They young girl that stays there still lives there, so they shouldn't have done that because she lives there and it's wrong."
He believed the woman, Mr Tekira's girlfriend, was at a tangi in Hawke's Bay at the time of the fire.
Another resident, Aiga Siamani, said she was sleeping at the time and was awoken by shouts for help from her children. She went outside to look for them and saw smoke and flames coming from the house.
"There were a lot of people standing and watching," she said.
"We're shocked. Last month someone died in our street, and starting at the beginning of this month the house is burning. We worry about that family because I think they have children."
Anyone with information should contact Porirua police on (04) 238 1400 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Newshub.
