A man has appeared in court after a 39-year-old Gisborne man died in hospital of gunshot wounds.
Douglas Deb Den Witeri was shot at a house in the suburb of Elgin about 2.40am on Sunday. He was taken to Gisborne hospital by ambulance crew in a critical condition and died that evening.
After Mr Witeri's death the investigation was upgraded to a homicide inquiry.
A 42-year-old man arrested shortly after the incident appeared in Gisborne District Court on Monday charged with assault and was remanded in custody.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Scott said the assault charge is likely to be replaced with a more appropriate charge later this week.
Mr Scott said police were still looking for the gun used to shoot Mr Witeri. A post-mortem was carried out on Monday.
