Police say a family in Hawke's Bay were lucky not to be injured after a "likely wayward shot from a hunter's firearm" entered their Puketitiri house.
"The family was sitting in their lounge at about 6.45pm on Wednesday 21 April when they heard a loud bang," police said on Wednesday.
"After investigating the noise, they found a bullet from a rifle had entered through an exterior wall and become lodged in an internal wall."
Police said the incident "proved to be a lucky near-miss" for the unsuspecting family, and although they hadn't determined who fired the shot, they are satisfied it wasn't intentional.
"It is extremely lucky no one inside the house was passing through the area at that time or we could have been dealing with an injury or worse."
The incident served as a reminder for hunters to make sure to always point their firearms in a safe direction and to take care when identifying their target and what is beyond it, police said.
Anyone with any information on the incident was asked to contact police on 105 and quote the file number 210407/7674.
