'Family harm incident' led to shots being fired at Dr Rudi's bar in Auckland - police

A "family harm incident" preceded a firearm being fired at a downtown Auckland bar over the weekend, police have revealed.

The alleged gunman fired several shots from a handgun outside Dr Rudi's Rooftop Bar in the early hours of Sunday morning before fleeing the area.

The incident unfolded after a group of people became aggressive when they were removed from the bar, with one pulling out a gun, police said in a statement to Newshub.

After a brief altercation with others outside the venue, the firearm was discharged into the foyer ceiling shortly before 3am.

Now, police can reveal a potential motive behind the shooting.

"Our enquiries to date have indicated this has occurred following a family harm incident at the venue," said Auckland City CIB's acting Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Franich.

"We are following positive lines of enquiry in relation to a person of interest in this matter. Police have previously searched a central Auckland address as part of this investigation.

"No arrest has been made at this stage, however there are a number of enquiries already underway to locate the person of interest."

Det Snr Sgt Franich said police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or recorded footage of it.

He says it's being treated as an "isolated incident".

It does, however, follow a spate of shootings in Auckland and Northland. On Monday, New Zealand Police Association President Chris Cahill says officers on the frontline have noticed an increase in firearms incidents.

"They've been telling me for four years about the increased risk of criminals with firearms," he said.

"It starts with them arming themselves, then they start shooting each other, then police got shot at. The final step is when the public gets caught in the middle - and that's what we saw on Saturday night unfortunately."