About 1000 people have attended a candlelit vigil in Feilding, following several tragedies that have left the Manawatu community in mourning.
Justice Minister and local MP Simon Power and other community leaders attended the gathering held in the town square on Friday night.
Farmer Scott Guy was found shot dead on his driveway near Feilding on 8 July and six other people have since died.
In the most recent tragedy, the bodies of three people were found in a house in Lees Road on Monday. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
Two people died in an airplane crash near Feilding's aerodrome at the end of July, while local solider Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on 2 August.
Mr Guy's sister, Nikki Guy, says there was an overwhelming sense of sadness on Friday but no fear or anger, and the support and care of the community was evident.
Ms Guy says the ceremony opened with two planes flying overhead and ended with a chorus of Auld Lang Syne.
