Kaikohe locals are in shock today following a woman's death after a home invasion last night.
Police were called to a Taraire St property at 11.30pm yesterday, after reports of an intruder.
A struggle between the occupants and the intruder resulted in the woman being seriously injured.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, the victim died at the scene.
Ex-gang member and community leader Jay Hepi told 1News it was "an absolute shock" waking to the news this morning.
"This is a small town, everybody knows everybody, in this town and we're all affected by whatever happens in this town, even though we're wider whanau, we still have aroha for the whanau here and what has happened.
"It's totally devastating for the family, and for our community to know that the perpetrator went through her house, and this was the outcome."
Police say an intruder broke into a Taraire St home shortly before midnight and after the resulting struggle, the woman died. (Source: 1News)
Hepi said there's also a significant shortage of police staff in the area which is impacting everybody.
"It's time for the community, it's time for the iwi, it's time for the hapu to stand up and say, we've got to take responsibility, we've got to be part of this, we've got to support in any way we can to address these issues."
He said the victim was well-known and respected in the community and he extended his condolences to the whānau.
Another local, Sharmon Wilcox, said he was also shocked by the news and more needs to be done to find those responsible.
"To be honest I think the bloody locals should come out and find these buggers that have done it.
"Us locals should be out there trying to find out who was doing this because it could’ve been any of our houses."
Asked if Kaikohe is usually a safe town, Wilcox said: "I mean things happen, but nothing ever escalates like this sort of thing. we've got heaps of youth and heaps of adults acting up but I mean not to hurt a lady or going into her house."
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania told 1News it was "terrible" news to wake up to for the community: "It's definitely a very tragic circumstance," he said.
"We just want to make sure that, as a community, we wrap around each other. That we all stay safe and that we find a way forward.
"This is terrible for our community here in Kaikohe. Nobody likes to wake up to know that something like this has happened in their own town."
This morning, police said they are working to establish what happened and have been speaking to a number of witnesses overnight to help find the person who fled the scene.
"At this stage, no arrests have been made," Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston said.
"We know residents will be waking up this morning to this shocking news and we want to reassure them our enquiries are well underway to locate the person responsible and hold them to account for their actions.
“We would like to hear from anyone who may have been in the area overnight and saw something, or someone, which may assist us with our enquiries.”
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