A rare multiple shooting in the center of Auckland just hours before the opening of the Women’s World Cup rattled the city as tens of thousands gathered to watch New Zealand play Norway in the first game of the tournament.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlined details of the attack in a hastily called news conference, confirming that three people had died – including the gunman – and several others were injured.
Emergency services rushed to the city’s central business district just after 7 a.m. local time Thursday, after reports that a man armed with a pump action shotgun had opened fire on a construction site, he said.
“He moved through the building site discharging the firearm as he went,” Hipkins said. “Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the man contained himself in an elevator. Shots were fired, and he was located a short time later.”
News footage showed heavily armed police dressed in body armour and carrying rifles flocking to the scene and cordoning off swathes of the business district.
Hipkins said the actions of the police officers who “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others” were “nothing short of heroic.”
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said one officer was shot as he attempted to engage the gunman, and four civilians had “moderate to critical injuries.”
Coster said the suspect was under home detention orders but had an exemption to work at the construction site where the shooting took place, and the incident was believed to be related to his work there.
The man had a “family violence history” but there was “nothing to suggest that he has presented a high level risk,” Coster said. He did not have a firearms license, Coster added.
