Easy access to illegal guns worries community leaders
- Cambelle Cook
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 15
Cambelle Cook
June 7, 2025
Serious firearms incidents in Wairarapa this year have community leaders and justice figures concerned about the availability of illegal weapons.
It follows the fatal shooting of Doreion Hard in Featherston on March 22, a firearm that was discharged at the Ministry of Social Development office in Masterton on May 5, and an incident on Masterton’s Queen St, also last month.
South Wairarapa mayor Martin Connelly believed many of the recent shootings were linked to gang activity.
The availability of illegal and homemade firearms, including some made from nail guns or with 3D printers, was on the rise, he said.
“There are more gun incidents than most people appreciate. I’ve had conversations with local police commanders who comment about how concerned they are.
“The capacity to build and construct weapons using things like 3D printers is something that is very new.”
Ministry of Justice figures showed the number of firearms offences processed through the Masterton District Court had climbed slightly over the past decade. There were 15 cases in 2015 and 25 last year.
However, the number peaked in 2021, when 35 cases went through the local court.
Connelly said community reactions in Wairarapa varied depending on how disruptive the shootings were.
“After the shooting in Featherston, where someone died, the community was really shaken. People laid flowers, and there was even a service held by a local vicar the next day.”
Two men were arrested and charged with murder in the wake of the shooting, which resulted in the victim dying in a Carterton supermarket car park.
Despite the fear and unease these events generated, Connelly worried that New Zealanders were becoming desensitised.
“It’s sobering. We used to think this stuff only happened overseas or in south Auckland. Now it’s on our doorstep.”
Connelly expressed particular concern about the lack of political action on gun control in New Zealand.
“Yes, I think there has been a failure of gun control in New Zealand over a very long time. I don’t think you can necessarily even point to one particular decision or date, but it’s ended up where we are now, where guns are far too readily available to people who want to cause mischief with them.”
Masterton lawyer Tom Andrews, a former police prosecutor who has lobbied for stricter gun laws regarding sawn-off shotguns, was also concerned about the increase in guns in Wairarapa.
“The current situation is that there’s an awful lot of guns in circulation, and the firearms laws are very lax. For the right people, it’s very easy to get hold of a firearm in New Zealand and in the Wairarapa at the moment. It’s shocking.”
Andrews said that while he fully supported the prohibition of automatic weapons after the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, he wanted to see more done.
“The sentencing is weak compared to other jurisdictions. So unlawful use of a firearm in New Zealand carries a penalty of four years’ imprisonment, whereas in Britain it carries 10. So it’s very weak by comparison.”
Andrews also said home-made and illegally modified firearms were increasingly causing concern.
“I am concerned, because there are a number of those and it’s being made easier by the advent of 3D printers.”
A sign directs gun owners to a buy-back event in 2019. The scheme, implemented in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, compensated licensed owners for the return of newly prohibited firearms and parts.
Masterton mother Olivia Tempson said that following the two most recent shootings, she no longer felt safe in her community.
“It’s pretty shocking. Stuff like this just keeps popping up all over the place. It makes you wonder why.”
Maisie Arnold-Barron grew up in Martinborough but now lives in Wellington. She said that while she didn’t know anyone personally affected by gun violence in the region, she acknowledged a wider community unease in recent years.
“When regulations were tightened after the 2019 mosque attacks, I know a lot of farmers were annoyed about giving up their guns. But I do feel like New Zealand has good firearm laws, and it’s really hard to get one.”
She added that while many Martinborough residents did own guns, it had always felt safe to her.
“A lot of people do own guns, but it’s usually older people with licences, and just for hunting.”
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Police media team declined to comment.
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