Te Awamutu-Kihikihi ward councillor Marcus Gower in his driveway with some of the objects thrown at his house last week. Several of his neighbour’s houses were also hit, he says. Photo: Jeremy Smith
A Waipā councillor who lashed out in an expletive laden social media post after his house was hit with “rocks and marbles” has described his fear as the incident unfolded.
Gower awoke just before midnight on Sunday to the sound of projectiles being thrown at his house in Carey St in Kihikihi just before midnight.
He estimates about 15-20 rocks and marbles were thrown, and at least three of his nearby neighbours’ houses were also hit.
Te Awamutu police constable Ryan Fleming said police were called to the scene and collected several of the objects.
While they believe a slingshot was used, Fleming said police are asking for more information.
Taking to social media after police were called, Gower posted from his personal Facebook page on the Kihikihi Community Facebook page, “…to the f****** shooting marbles at our homes on Carey St, stop. You’re f****** losers. You’re probably not able to read though, so we have called the cops.”
The five-term Te Awamutu-Kihikihi ward councillor was taken to task over the post in some quarters, with several comments below it challenging Gower’s choice of language, with an anonymous member of the public then referring the post to council staff.
“…He’s a councillor, he should not be speaking like this publicly…” one said.
“…I can’t believe you would talk like this…” wrote another.
Gower though – who told The News he was not asked to remove the post – said the incident had left him and his neighbours “absolutely shaken.”
“We think it was a group of people throwing things down from Lyon St. It’s just so irresponsible, they could have caused some
serious damage?”
Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk – who was acting mayor when the incident happened – described some of the choice of words in Gower’s post as “rash”, though she accepted the incident would have been “very unnerving”.
“I’ve always known Marcus to be a man of the highest character, and I suspect he posted in the heat of the moment in the middle of the night as he was trying to figure out what was happening,” she said.
