Dramatic video shows an incident where a gunshot was allegedly fired on a busy Hamilton shopping strip on Friday evening.
On Saturday morning, police said they were investigating after the incident was reported to them at 5.30pm on Friday, when a firearm was "allegedly discharged".
A video taken from a passing vehicle, and posted on TikTok, showed two groups of people facing each other in front of a shop on Bader Street. Some of the men are wearing leather jackets which appear to have gang patches on them.
A single loud bang could then be heard with a blast visible on the ground. A man with a red bandana among several others could be seen getting away.
In an updated statement on Saturday afternoon, police appealed to the public for any footage that captured the "verbal altercation" that happened between the two groups "immediately before a shot was allegedly discharged".
There are multiple businesses on Bader Street including a dairy, grocery store, laundromat next to where the apparent incident happened. A pre-school is also located across the road.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Ian Foster said it was "extremely fortunate" that no one was injured in the incident. He said there was an increased police presence in the area "as investigators followed up on a number of lines of enquiry".
“This behaviour is not acceptable, and it is extremely fortunate no one was injured,” he said.
"We are also appealing for any phone or CCTV footage that captured the incident, including a verbal altercation between two groups outside the shops and immediately before a shot was allegedly discharged."
A shopkeeper from a grocery retailer on the street, Kiwi Fresh, told 1News that she heard a "big blow" and initially thought that there may have been a car crash nearby.
She said she'd seen fighting on the street before, and that the street itself had been "notorious", but that this was the first time that she'd heard what she thought was shots.
"I think we heard [a shooting] for the first time in the market area," she said. "It's not safe, the bullet could have gone towards any shop."
The local shopkeeper said her shop had been busy at the time of the incident and that it was rush hour for the businesses on the street.
"We have a big queue of shops in this area and I think a lot of people come in the evening after finishing work."
She said she was worried about the incident giving a "bad reputation" to the area.
Another business owner told 1News that they also didn't see the alleged shooting themselves but later saw multiple police officers inspecting parts of the street.
"We could see some cops coming outside and they were recording something down."
Anyone with information is being asked to contact police on 105, quoting file number 220430/0444, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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