Gunmen kill two people in Auckland, New Zealand just hours before the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
A rare multiple shooting in the heart of Auckland just hours before the start of the Women’s World Cup shook the city as tens of thousands gathered to watch New Zealand take on Norway in the tournament’s first game.
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In a hastily arranged news conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins detailed the attack, saying that three people had killed, including the gunmen, and that several more had been injured.
He said emergency personnel went to the city’s central business district shortly after 7 a.m. local time Thursday, following reports of a guy armed with a pump action shotgun opening fire on a construction site.
“He moved through the building site, discharging the firearm as he went,” Hipkins said.
“When the man reached the upper levels of the building, he confined himself in a lift.” Shots were fired, and he was apprehended shortly afterwards.
According to news reports, heavily armed police wearing body armour and wielding weapons flocked to the site, cordoning off swaths of the business district.
Hipkins described the efforts of the officers who “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others” as “nothing short of heroic.”
According to New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, one officer was wounded while attempting to confront the attacker, and four civilians were injured with “moderate to critical injuries.
According to Coster, the suspect was under home detention orders but was allowed to work at the construction site where the shooting occurred, and the incident was thought to be related to his work there.
The individual has a “family violence history,” but “nothing to suggest that he has presented a high level risk,” according to Coster. Coster added that he lacked a firearms licence.
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The incident did not constitute a national security danger, according to New Zealand Police, as organisers assured the Women’s World Cup opening ceremony and first game will go ahead as planned.
FIFA issued a statement in which it expressed “its heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families and friends.”
