Police remain at the scene of a fatal shooting at Waitarere Beach this morning

A 60-year-old man's dead, and a 43-year-old woman, and two young men, aged 21 and 17, are in a critical condition.

Manawatu Area Commander Ross Grantham says the incident's believed to have involved a family - and the scene was confronting.

He says the next steps are removing the man's body, conducting a post-mortem, and interviewing the victims when they're sufficiently recovered.