A tangihanga is being held in Ōpōtiki for Steven Taiatini, the president of the Mongrel Mob Barbarians.

The 45-year-old died in the town on Friday night.

Police have launched a homicide investigation into his death and a number of gang members.

Ōpōtiki's mayor has denied his town is being 'held to ransom” by gang members, with escalating tensions leading principals to close their schools as a safety precaution.

Several principals have kept the doors to their schools shut after a homicide and two house fires since Friday in Ōpōtiki.

Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore told the AM Show some of the schools which had closed were situated 'very close” to where the tangihanga for Steven Rota Taiatini would be held.

"It is literally on the boundary of number of schools; it's a small community, there's family members at every single school ... we all have links to each other.

"The schools have made the choice on their own, the ones that have decided to shut, we have to respect that, and those that have decided to stay open, everyone respects that as well."

He says the schools in question would assess the situation on a daily basis.

'It was their call to close those, there's a school that thought they should have been open and carried on as normal but if the schools want to stay open we have to respect that and vice versa.

'If they're closing that's their choice, we can't get involved in that side of it. The schools that were open yesterday, large numbers of children were away anyway, so it is probably a good thing for just a few days and then we'll get back to normal as soon as we can."

Ōpōtiki High School is closed for the entire week with principal Terehia Channings posting they've consulted with police, Te Whakatōhea Trust Board, Te Rūnanga Nui o Whakatōhea along with other principals of local schools.

'Our board of trustees and the Ministry of Education have supported my decision to close the college for the remainder of the week.”

Police say they will be providing 24/7 coverage over the coming days to offer reassurance to those in the wider community who may be feeling unsafe.

Asked whether enough was being done to keep the peace, given there had been reports of gunshots and arsons in the area over the past few days, Moore says: "I can't deny that's happened."

However, police were doing "a very good job" and efforts to keep the situation calm had been going on "behind the scenes" since Friday, he says.

"It has heightened everyone's anxiety levels, I guess, and that's rightly so, but the police are doing a very good job and ... we're just doing the best we can."

While the area could "always do with more", he says there is a sufficient police presence in the town at present.

"We're confident we've got enough there and they will resource us more if we need it."

Moore says the media was "hyping-up the rivalry and gang war".

"That's not the reality on the ground here."

There was a gang element in the town, he says, "but this is a member of our community - obviously they're going to have visitors 'cause of their status in that gang".

"We are having an influx of people paying their respects from out of town."

Moore says he had attended the tangi himself to pay his respects, along with local iwi leaders and school leaders.

"They showed great respect - OK, there was a gang presence there but they welcomed us in and there was nothing but respect for us when we went there, and it goes the other way.

"Just because they wear a patch, they are still members of our community and they are people."

RNZ and additional reporting from Stuff