Gunman Kills 6 and Wounds 5 in New Zealand

A man embroiled in a domestic dispute opened fire on his relatives and passersby at a ski resort Saturday, killing six people and wounding five, police said.

The suspect, a 24-year-old man described by residents of the village of Raurimu Spiral as a former psychiatric patient, was later found naked and unarmed in the woods.

He was charged with one count of murder and faced more charges, police said. They did not identify him.

The violence began with a family argument, and it appeared that the gunman’s relatives, including his parents, bore the brunt of his rage, police said. But passersby also were caught in the shooting. The wounded were flown to hospitals by helicopters.

It took authorities more than an hour to reach the village 250 miles north of the capital, Wellington. The nearest police station was 30 miles away.

Residents of Raurimu Spiral said they saw a man and a woman lying wounded on the main road.

Gordon Stewart said he was at the local school when he heard about eight shots.

“At first it was thought to be hunters out in the nearby bush,” he said. “But then a car drove up with a man inside pleading for help. He had been shot in the head. He said that someone had gone berserk with a shotgun and was shooting at random.”

Prime Minister Jim Bolger said he was “shocked and dismayed” by the violence. He expressed sympathy to the family and friends of the victims.