Police say they can't rule out gang involvement in a drive-by shooting on Thursday evening in the south Auckland suburb of Ōtara.
A 14-year-old, 16-year-old and a 21-year-old were shot with a shotgun, before a blue car fled the scene, leaving one of the men requiring surgery.
The other two men had minor injuries.
Detective Senior Sergeant Eddie Sutherland says "it's probably a one-off situation".
"I think there were two groups of individuals that encountered each other. They had a bit of an altercation, which carried on for possibly about 100 metres, where it got a little more serious."
Then, a passenger exited the vehicle and fired shots, before getting back in and fleeing the scene.
Mr Sutherland says the investigations were ongoing and he could not give much more information on what happened, but volunteered that police "can't say it wasn't gang-related".
He says they should have a clear idea within the next 24 hours on who was involved.
"We take it very seriously, as far as firearms are concerned. The community have a right to be safe in their homes and this kind of activity is far from that."
Newshub.
