A Black Power member has been sentenced to prison after instigating a dangerous shootout with rival gang members that started in Middlemore Hospital’s busy carpark. The two groups then embarked on a wild car chase through South Auckland in which witnesses said more shots were fired from at least one of the speeding cars. “Both vehicles were driven in a way that presented extreme danger to the public,” Judge Sharyn Otene said last week as Tipene Adlim Levi Kiel-Pirini appeared in the Manukau District Court for sentencing on his 35th birthday. She warned his family at the outset of the hearing that prison could be the only outcome given what transpired. The defendant, however, took the decision in stride. Although he showed no remorse for the Mongrel Mob associates he had shot at, he did express his regret for having put the public in danger. “Thank you, Your Honour,” he said at the conclusion of the hearing, as his mother wept and his young children repeatedly shouted support: “Love you, Dad!” Tipene Kiel-Pirini appears in court for sentencing after pleading guilty to opening fire in the Middlemore Hospital carpark during a confrontation with a rival gang member. Photo / Craig Kapitan “I take full responsibility,” he added. Court documents state Kiel-Pirini first showed up at Middlemore Hospital with a hand injury on the afternoon of January 4 last year. He and his partner left the hospital around 5.30pm in their black BMW but returned just under an hour later - within minutes of a patched Mongrel Mob member, referred to by the judge as the “primary victim”, and three associates arriving at the hospital in a Holden. Most of what followed was pieced together through CCTV. Menacing drive-by, then gunfire The victim, on crutches, was walking towards the hospital when Kiel-Pirini’s vehicle drove slowly past. He decided to turn around and walk back to his associates who had been waiting in the rear seats of the parked Holden. Kiel-Pirini’s vehicle then U-turned and he slowly drove past the other man again. “When he was approximately 20 metres past [the victim], the defendant leant out the front passenger window of the BMW and aimed a firearm...”, the agreed summary of facts states. He didn’t fire that time, but there was another U-turn and he exchanged words with the other men. Tipene Kiel-Pirini fired a gun during a confrontation in the Middlemore Hospital carpark. Photo / Doug Sherring Another associate of the Mongrel Mob member, who had initially remained in the Holden, then emerged wearing a balaclava. The victim’s group started advancing towards Kiel-Pirini’s car, the balaclava-clad man holding his left hand inside his sleeveless jacket. Kiel-Pirini’s BMW passed the group one last time, with him opening fire roughly 15-20 metres past the other vehicle. “The associate in the balaclava ducked as the shot was fired,” court documents state. “A civilian witness walking to her parked vehicle about 10 metres behind [the Mongrel Mob member] also took evasive action. “The carpark was moderately full at the time, with a steady stream of traffic entering and leaving the hospital, and a number of people walking to and from the hospital entrance.” Dangerous pursuit Kiel-Pirini’s car drove off at speed. The other men jumped in their Holden and gave chase. Two witnesses driving along Swaffield Road in Papatoetoe would later describe to police hearing shots as both the BMW and the Holden approached from behind. “Both vehicles sped past the witnesses on the wrong side of the road, exceeding the 50km/h speed limit,” court documents state. “After passing the witnesses, one of the people in the Holden leant out of the Holden and fired a shot at the BMW.” Tipene Kiel-Pirini appears in court for sentencing after pleading guilty to opening fire in the Middlemore Hospital carpark during a confrontation with a rival gang member. Photo / Craig Kapitan Both vehicles continued on, driving on the wrong side of the road at some points and running a...