- The victim of the Ponsonby Rd shooting has been named as Robert Sidney Horne. 

- Gunman Hone Kay-Selwyn was found dead on a rural property near Taupō. 

- Court documents show the Killer Beez gang member ‘sucker punched’ a stranger outside a Taupō bar in 2020. 

- He pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure and was sentenced to 10 months’ supervision. 

- Today, a convoy of 12 vehicles with dozens of men arrived at the property where he was found dead. 

New details have emerged about a Killer Beez gang member who was found dead in Taupō after gunning down a man on Ponsonby Rd at the weekend.  

Hone Kay Selwyn, 31, opened fire just after 10.15pm on Sunday after being denied entry to a bar.  

Robert Sidney Horne, 33, died at the scene. 

Court documents released to Stuff say Kay-Selwyn sucker-punched a stranger to the body and head outside Taupō's Sin City strip club about 1.40am on February 1, 2020. 

He had been at the club with gang associates. 

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Kay-Selwyn’s punch knocked the victim to the ground. 

His large decorative ring caused the victim significant cuts, swelling and bruising to his face and head. 

The victim had to be taken to hospital after losing consciousness. 

Kay-Selwyn pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure and was sentenced to 10 months supervision, Stuff reported. 

Hone Kay-Selwyn pictured on 20 April, 2024. He shot a man dead on Ponsonby Rd on Sunday night. 

“He admitted he over-reacted to what the victim said and punched him in the head once, but nowhere else on his body.” 

Kay-Selwyn claimed alcohol was a major factor for his actions and said he regretted carrying out the violent act. 

The Herald reported yesterday that Kay-Selwyn first appeared in the Waitākere District Court in May 2020 on a charge of assault with intent to injure. 

In June 2020, he appeared again after breaching bail and in December 2020, he appeared in the Waitākere District Court again for breaching community detention conditions. 

It remained unclear what resulted from these charges. A police spokesman told the Herald to approach the court for further information on historical matters. He confirmed Kay-Selwyn was not on bail at the time of Sunday’s homicide. 

Kay-Selwyn fell into gang life at just 14 after his father, celebrated filmmaker Don Selwyn, died in 2007 and he left school at 15. 

Membership in the gang gave him a “sense of belonging”, he said. 

In December 2020, he appeared in the Waitākere District Court for breaching community detention conditions. 

A police spokesman confirmed Kay-Selwyn was not on bail at the time of Sunday’s homicide. 

In the wake of that shooting, the Minister of Police has today tried reassuring a frightened Auckland public by pointing to an extra 15 police officers doing foot patrols around the sprawling city. 

Mark Mitchell was asked what reassurances he could offer people: “Well, the fact of the matter is; we’ve got comprehensive gang legislation at the moment. It’s a big part of what we want to do around our strategy of dealing with gangs. 

“The police have increased foot patrols in Auckland by about 15. There are reassurance patrols there [on Ponsonby Rd] and we’ve been far more proactive and forward-leaning in terms of the way that police deal with gangs.” 

Earlier today, the body of the Ponsonby Rd gunman was removed from a rural Taupō address to a rousing haka. 

About 12 cars full of men dressed in black, some with their faces covered, arrived at the Broadlands address while police conducted inquiries into the death of Kay-Selwyn. 

He was wanted by police and had a warrant for his arrest in relation to the Sunday night shooting. 

Detective Inspector Chris Barry told media earlier today Kay-Selwyn was found dead by an associate while police were on their way to speak to him yesterday afternoon. 

His death is being treated as unexplained, Barry said. 

The property is 7km from Taupō and multiple police cars have been at the property since early this morning. 

The rural property where the suspect in the Ponsonby shooting was found dead. Photo / Andrew Warner 

At about 11am, a convoy of high-end vehicles arrived at the address with dozens of people inside. 

Some of the occupants of the vehicles were spoken to by police upon arrival. 

Some at the gathering opened alcoholic drinks and drank them while at the property. 

A convoy of cars arrived at the rural property where the suspect in the Ponsonby shooting was found dead. Photo / Andrew Warner 

A neighbour heard police sirens at the address this morning at about 5am. 

Police put out a warrant to arrest Kay-Selwyn for unlawful possession of a firearm yesterday after a man was shot dead on Ponsonby Rd at 10.15pm on Sunday. 

Police outside the cabin where the body of Hone Kay-Selwyn (inset) was found. Photo / Dan Hutchinson 

The victim has been named as 33-year-old Robert Sidney Horne, a hard-working drainlayer with a big heart, a colleague said. 

Horne had been with a group of people at the time of the shooting outside a bar on Ponsonby Rd. 

Barry said there was no relationship between Kay-Selwyn, who was a member of the Killer Beez gang, and the victim and his associates. 

Detective Inspector Chris Barry talks to media after the suspected gunman was found dead. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

The victim and his associates, to the best of police’s knowledge, had no association with any criminal group, Barry said. 

Partner’s remorse 

As police hunted for Kay-Selwyn, a woman claiming to be his partner expressed her remorse over the incident.  

The woman reflected on the fatal shooting on social media. 

“My inbox is overflowing with messages concerning Hone’s [alleged] actions [on Sunday] night in Ponsonby,” the woman said. 

“I want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim. I’m deeply sorry and feel a great sense of shame about the situation. 

“I’m still grappling with the fact that Hone took someone’s life.” 

Hone Kay-Selwyn, the man wanted by police after the Ponsonby Rd shooting, with his alleged partner. 

Her social media post has since been deleted. 

The Herald has exclusive footage of Kay-Selwyn immediately after the shooting, showing him calmly walking away from the crime scene and talking on his cellphone. 

Kay-Selwyn walks into the camera’s frame at 10.17pm, two minutes after the shots were fired. 

He glances back at the scene multiple times but continues walking south towards Richmond Rd. 

Detective Inspector Chris Barry with images of Hone Kay-Selwyn, who had been wanted by police after the shooting on Ponsonby Rd on Sunday. Photo / Dean Purcell 

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.