Footage has emerged of a violent skirmish in a Napier park where a person was knocked unconscious on the same day as a Mongrel Mob and Black Power-related shooting incident.
Police are saying that gangs are increasingly fighting over meth in the region, but a Black Power life member today said the Anderson Park incident was not related to that.
Napier police were called to Anderson Park on Sunday after reports of a group of men fighting with weapons about 3.15pm.
A shotgun was later discharged outside Napier Health on Wellesley Street about 7.30pm.
Video obtained by 1 NEWS appears to show the skirmish in Anderson Park, with several people fighting and some wielding weapons.
One man is hit in the face and knocked unconscious, with others coming in soon afterwards and standing over him.
The NZ Herald reported that one person was taken to hospital after the incident suffering a broken jaw, and that extra security was called in during their treatment.
Speaking to RNZ's Nine to Noon programme, Detective Inspector Mike Foster Eastern District Investigations Manager said Napier, and the wider Eastern District, have seen a rapid increase in gang conflict in the past two years.
Mr Foster said that many of the conflicts were over methamphetamine.
"We've seen turf wars down at Anderson Park between Mongrel Mob and Black Power," Mr Foster told RNZ.
"It's ramping up, so we've got staff visible down there at the moment."
However, Black Power life member Denis O'Reilly also told RNZ that police had misread the situation at Anderson Park, which was not related to drugs.
No arrests had been made as of late yesterday, police said, but Mr Foster revealed that a Black Power member was pulled over last night, with three firearms found in their car.
Mr Foster said gang membership in the Eastern District had increased by about 58 per cent within the past two years.
"I'd say we've got close to about 1000 gang members in the eastern region at the moment, which is huge," he said.
The Mongrel Mob had seen the largest increase.
Mr Foster agreed that methamphetamine was easier to obtain than cannabis in the region, and said 94 per cent of all illicit drugs found during wastewater sample testing was methamphetamine.
"Meth is huge in our district sadly."
Police say they continue to investigate the conflicts.
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