Man found dead with gunshot wound

Police in Palmerston North are investigating the unexplained death of a man in the city this evening.

Around 3.45 this evening a man was found dead in the grounds of a block of flats in Heretaunga Street. He has a gunshot wound, and a firearm which is likely to have inflicted the wound was found by the body.

Enquiries to date have revealed that there was an altercation between the dead man and another man at a flat nearby a short time earlier. The other man is at the police station helping police with enquiries.

No-one is under arrest and police are now trying to get to the bottom of what occurred earlier this evening and the circumstances that led to the man's death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Sheridan said: "It is too early to speculate on exactly how the dead man came by his fatal injuries or whether anyone else was involved. There is a significant amount of work to do at the scene before we will be in a position to move his body and carry out a thorough medical examination."

The road will remain sealed off to traffic at least for tonight and a small number of residents living in immediate vicinity of the scene have assisted police by making arrangements to stay elsewhere overnight.

A full scene examination will take place involving ESR who will attend tomorrow (Saturday, 5 September). Area enquiries will also be carried out.

No identification of the deceased has yet been carried out so police are currently unable to provide any information other than it is a man who has died.