Conflict between neighbours ends with attack, crashes and a paramedic being punched

Monday, 22 June 2026

It started with a fence that needed fixing and it ended with a raft of charges and, eventually, more than three years in jail.

It’s likely October 25 last year won’t be a day Hamilton man Shaun O’Rourke will retain fond memories of.

O’Rourke, 58, appeared in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing on the charges his actions earned him that day: Injuring with intent to injure, threatening to kill, dangerous driving, failing to stop to ascertain injury after a crash, and others.

It was about 10am that morning when O’Rourke’s neighbour was leaving his house for the day. O’Rourke approached him and said they needed to fix the fence that separated their yards.

The neighbour said he could not do it that day, as he was heading out. O’Rourke took offence at this and began yelling at the neighbour as he was leaving.

Later that day, about 6pm, the neighbour had returned home and was cleaning his home in the driveway. O’Rourke arrived and drove past him on the way to his unit.

As he passed by he yelled out the window: “I’m going to smash you, c…, not just give you a hiding, f…ing smash you.”

O’Rourke went into his unit and got a knife before returning, holding the knife up in a threatening way.

“I’m going to stab you, c…, I’m going to kill you,” he said.

The neighbour grabbed the arm that was holding the knife. O’Rourke used his other hand to punch him in the face four or five times, holding the knife with the blade protruding between his thumb and index finger as he did so.

The neighbour’s cheek began to bleed - O’Rourke took off.

Sometime later he was behind the wheel of a Holden Commodore in Tristram St in central Hamilton, heading towards the intersection with Mill St.

The lights were red, and O’Rourke failed to sufficiently brake and hit the rear of a Honda that was in the lane ahead of him. The Honda was shunted into a GMC vehicle that was in front of it.

O’Rourke immediately reversed and drove off in the wrong lane, against the red light. He then struck a Hyundai car heading east down Mill St with sufficient force to knock it onto its left side wheels.

O’Rourke got out of his own smashed car and attempted to leave - but was confronted by one of the drivers he had hit.

The police arrived. O’Rourke again attempted to leave, but was intercepted. He was unsteady on his feet and smelled strongly of alcohol.

A short time later he lay down and declared he was in pain - and was subsequently rushed to Waikato Hospital by ambulance.

On arrival he became hostile towards the staff who were trying to help him,and assaulted a paramedic, as well as a constable who was attempting to get a blood sample from him.

That sample was evidently not obtained, but it was clear he was in breach of his “zero alcohol” licence. It was his ninth conviction for drink-driving.

The driver and passengers in the Honda, including young children, had suffered minor injuries in the initial crash. The occupants of the Hyundai were uninjured.

The Holden was extensively damaged in the crash and O’Rourke was uninsured.

He ended up pleading guilty to all of his charges “which is at least some sign you acknowledge you should not have been offending in this way,” said Judge Thomas Ingram on Wednesday.

O’Rourke was jailed for three years and two months, and disqualified from driving for 18 months.