Robertsons Meats was among several buildings around Dunedin to have their windows shot at overnight yesterday, including the Ebb Hotel, in Filleul St; Victoria Hotel, on the corner of St Andrew St and Cumberland St; and a house in David St, South Dunedin.
The butchery’s co-owner was troubled by what appeared to be someone driving around the city, taking pot shots at random buildings — particularly at hotels, where there was a significant chance of actually hitting someone.
"Is this what’s going to happen frequently now? Who would know, the way things are going.
"I don’t like it. It was just good for us that there was nobody here at the time.
"When is this all going to stop?
"The North Island get their ram-raids and we get bloody drive-by shootings.
"Idiots with guns — it’s just not on."
Aside from the dangerous behaviour of the shooter, it was also expensive and disruptive for the affected businesses, Mr Robertson said.
"I’m pretty hacked off because every time something like this happens, we’ve got to fix it.
"Insurance isn’t cheap, our excess just keeps going up, and it’s disruptive to our work because we can’t put any meat in the front window until it’s fixed."
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police had access to CCTV footage from one of the incidents and were now looking for a "light-coloured sedan" in relation to the incidents.
He said police were continuing to investigate several businesses that had their windows broken in the central city and south Dunedin early yesterday.
He believed there may be more that had not yet been reported and he urged people with similar damage to their buildings to contact Dunedin police.
"If anyone has any information about who has caused this damage, or has seen a light coloured sedan vehicle acting suspiciously overnight ... contact police."
The gun-related incidents are among several in Dunedin over the past three months.
On March 3, a man sparked an eight-hour rooftop standoff with armed police after allegedly threatening to shoot officers; on March 10, a 25-year-old was charged with attempted murder following a drive-by shooting in Thomas Burns St; on April 10, a 44-year-old man was arrested after shots were fired in Manor Pl; and on April 16, prominent Dunedin activist Jack Brazil was shot and wounded in Littlebourne Rd.
Despite the incidents, Otago coastal area relieving commander Inspector Craig Brown reiterated a previous statement, saying police did not believe there had been an upward trend of gun violence in Dunedin.
"In the Southern district, we have our share of firearms-related incidents along with all other police districts.
"While we acknowledge that there have been several incidents of concern recently, our continuous review of long-term trends in reported crime suggests that offending involving firearms is stable rather than trending upward."
He said police took all firearms incidents very seriously.
"The safety of our communities is of utmost importance and we act quickly to resolve firearms incidents, seize firearms and bring offenders before the courts.
"Victims of offending are offered support and, where appropriate, additional community patrols can offer reassurance following an incident."
