Acting Tairāwhiti Area Commander Inspector Darren Paki:

Additional staff from around the Tairawhiti area have been called to the region to boost Police presence in and around Gisborne following a 21st birthday party overnight that ended with two people dead.

 Police have launched a homicide investigation into the two deaths believed to have been caused by injuries inflicted during a large altercation that broke out from the party.

 Police staff including AOS were deployed to break up the altercation and staff attempted to resuscitate the two victims who were later declared deceased. 

Victim support is providing support for the families and welfare support for staff involved in the initial response. Three other people were taken to hospital with injuries and they remain in hospital. 

A 45-year-old man and 21-year-old man are both in a serious but stable condition with suspected stab wounds. A 30-year-old man is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit. Due to the nature of this incident, Police have a presence at the emergency department of Gisborne Hospital, where access to the Emergency Department is being managed. The ED remains open to those needing care.

 One person has been arrested and is assisting police with enquiries. Our investigators are now piecing together the events leading up to the altercation, but initial indications are that the party was attended by a large number of family members, when two uninvited guests arrived. 

This is very clearly a distressing situation for the community and particularly for the families now grieving loved ones. What should have been a happy occasion for this family, fuelled by alcohol, has turned into an ugly and an awful tragedy for the people involved. 

Our staff will be on high alert and monitoring ongoing activity and initial indications are that the conflict did not involve rival gangs.

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