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Story: Gangs

Jhia Te Tua's death

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Jhia Te Tua's death

In 2007 two-year-old Jhia Te Tua was shot dead while she slept on the couch in her Whanganui home in a gang-related drive-by shooting. This cartoon depicts the dangers faced by children as a result of inter-gang rivalry. Two men were convicted of Jhia's murder, and others in the car were convicted on other charges. The Crown alleged that the man who pulled the trigger, Hayden Wallace, was prospecting to become a Mongrel Mob member, and had been ordered to carry out a drive-by shooting of the home of Black Power member Josh Te Tua.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: DCDL-0003338

by Tom Scott

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Greg Newbold and Rāwiri Taonui, Gangs – Gangs and crime, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/28257/jhia-te-tuas-death (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Greg Newbold and Rāwiri Taonui, published 30 March 2011, reviewed and revised 2 October 2018 with assistance from Jarrod Gilbert, updated 1 April 2020.