Two people have been confirmed dead after a shooting incident in Auckland’s CBD just hours before the city hosts the FIFA Women’s World Cup opener.
Six others have been injured including a Police officer.
The gunman is also dead.
Heavily armed Police swarmed the city after a gunman opened fire at a building site just before 7.30 am local time.
Police have confirmed the man was armed with a pump-action shotgun and fired numerous shots as he made his way through the site.
The man then contained himself in an elevator on an upper level where more shots were fired before the man was found dead a short time later.
IMAGE: Nine
“I want to thank the brave men and women of the New Zealand police, who ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others,” New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins said.
“These kind of situations move fast and the actions of those who risk their lives to save others are nothing short of heroic. I also want to acknowledge the ambulance first responders who were there quickly on the scene this morning.”
Images from Auckland show workers on the construction site cowering behind building materials as the gunman opened fire.
IMAGE: Twitter
The incident took place not far from a World Cup live site and close to where several international teams are staying.
But officials don’t believe the shooting is linked to the event, nor do they believe it is terror-related.
“With the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. The government has spoken to FIFA organisers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned,” Mr Hipkins said.
“I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the actions of one individual.”
A number of streets in Auckland’s CBD remain cordoned off but Police say there is no immediate threat.
More to come.
