Australian tourist shot dead in New Zealand
A man is facing murder charges after an Australian was shot dead near a popular New Zealand surf spot.
Sean McKinnon, 33 was shot several times by the 23-year old suspect during a robbery of his campervan in Raglan near Hamilton.
McKinnon’s fiancé Bianca Buckley escaped unhurt and alerted police.
The couple were sleeping in the vehicle when they were attacked late at night.
It sparked a wide scale manhunt for the unnamed suspect who is from the local area.
The suspect then drove off in the campervan with the injured or possibly already dead McKinnon in the back.
The vehicle was found dumped about 75 miles away with McKinnon’s body still inside.
In a first court appearance he was charged with murder, aggravated robbery, making threats to kill and driving whilst disqualified, but has not been publically named.
McKinnon was described as a regular traveller and die-hard surfer.
According to police inspector Graham Pitkethley, it was a ‘random and tragic event’ and shouldn’t put off tourists from visiting Raglan and the Waikato region.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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