A schoolboy has been shot dead while he and a relative played with powerful rifle on the East Coast.
It happened at Tutamoe Station on Friday afternoon, about 40km inland from Tolaga Bay.
Triston Papuni, 11, was with a cousin of about the same age when the gun was fired, hitting him in the chest. The police do not know who pulled the trigger.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Scott says the weapon was owned by an uncle, and the whole family is in shock.
A post-mortem is to be held in Auckland on Sunday morning.
