Police will not say whether the man who was shot in Opunake on Saturday was holding a gun when he was killed.
Anthony Ratahi kept his ex-girlfriend for 12 hours against her will at a hotel before he was killed by a police bullet.
On Sunday evening police said a firearm Mr Ratahi used had still not been found.
But a police spokesperson now says a gun was found in the lobby of the hotel, near where Mr Ratahi was killed, on Sunday afternoon.
Acting Central District Commander, Inspector Pat Handcock, says the officers involved have not all been interviewed and it still needs to be established if Mr Ratahi had the gun when he was shot.
Released week ago
Mr Ratahi had been out of prison for just over a week, for an earlier attack on the same woman.
A Taranaki iwi liaison officer, Warren Wipatene, says the family has a lot of questions to ask.
Mr Wipatene says the family has shown patience and should be applauded. He says the family is coping well despite the difficult circumstances.
A family member who does not want to be named says the Ratahi men she knows are loving and sensitive and she doesn't know what caused Anthony Ratahi to snap.
