A family patriarch fatally shot his wife, three sons and two other relatives after an argument Wednesday morning, then killed himself, police said.
His 9-year-old granddaughter barricaded herself in an upstairs room and talked with police by phone for three hours, describing the dying moments of her 11-year-old brother, before she was taken to safety.Police spokesman Senior Sgt. Graham Bell said the 66-year-old gunman, identified as Brian Schlaepfer, was the eldest member of the three-family group that lived in two farmhouses about 30 miles south of Auckland.
Schlaepfer had farmed in the area all his life, and neighbors called the family close-knit.
Bell said Schlaepfer was involved in a heated argument and began firing around dawn with three weapons, including a shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle.
"There has been a domestic upheaval of some sort this morning. This has unhinged him and he started shooting," Bell said. "We are still trying to work out exactly what the background is to this. The man has been suffering from bouts of depression in recent times."
Police recovered the weapons, then searched in sometimes pouring rain for the gunman in dense bush on the rambling 300-acre property, unsure if he had fled and was still armed.