Rotorua triple homicide: Community 'shaken to our core', mayor says

Rotorua locals have been "shaken to our core" following an alleged triple homicide, its mayor says.It comes as police maintained an overnight guard at the scene.Emergency services arrived at the home on High Street in Glenholme shortly before 10.30pm on Monday, where they found the bodies of two young children along with a critically injured woman who died at the scene.Police began a homicide investigation and a man aged in his early 20s appeared in the Rotorua District Court on Tuesday, charged with assaulting a person in a family relationship.The man and the victims were granted interim name suppression and he was remanded in custody until next month.On Wednesday morning, Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said the community was devastated by the news."We're really devastated about the triple homicide that's occurred here in Rotorua and especially in the Glenholme neighbourhood. Look, this is a very … nice families that live there for multiple generations, quite a lot of elderly people."This is a wonderful neighbourhood that we are just shaken to our core that this has happened in Rotorua and there continues to be a police presence as they complete their investigations."Unfortunately, we do know that there are two very young children involved in this incident, so our thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted."Tapsell said her message to the community was to stay strong, look after one another and report things to police if they had concerns."We need to support each other, not only through this incident but also as we continue to deal with increased uncertainty."A 79-year-old man who had lived on the street his whole life said he was in shock since learning what had happened.The people living in the house seemed to have recently moved in, he said, and he had seen new children around the street.A hearse arrived and family members were seen hugging and crying outside the High Street house on Tuesday evening.