Police have charged a man with murder for the shooting death of Mongrel Mob member Daniel Eliu in front of Manukau’s Seventh Day Adventist Church earlier this month.

Police announced the arrest of the 41-year-old male this afternoon.

His first court appearance on the charge is set for tomorrow in Manukau District Court.

Police earlier said that Eliu, a notorious member of the Mongrel Mob who also had links to the Head Hunters, appeared to have been “deliberately targeted” as he was fatally gunned down in front of the Puhinui Rd church on December 17.

The 46-year-old had been attending a graduation for the Grace Foundation, a Christian-based intensive rehabilitation programme catering to those “truly on the margins of New Zealand society” who are seeking to put their criminal pasts behind them.

Mongrel Mob member Daniel Eliu was shot dead in Manukau earlier this month. Photo / File

Although Eliu wasn’t graduating himself that day, he had been in the programme for about six months.

The group, which holds such events each Saturday, was waiting outside the church about 10am for a Christmas meal when the shooting occurred.

The arrest comes one day after Eliu’s funeral, which included haka, barking and chants “Seig f***ing heil” had police on high alert.

There were no significant issues as a result of the South Auckland tangi, police said later in the day.

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“Police continue to make inquiries to identify others involved in the fatal shooting,” Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Va’aelua said today in a statement announcing the arrest.

Police are continuing to ask anyone with information on the shooting to provide a tip by calling 105 or going online at www.police.govt.nz/use-105, clicking on the “Update My Report” tab and citing file number 221217/6485. Anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.