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21-07-2023
AUCKLAND: New Zealand is in mourning after a shooting in Auckland left two people dead, hours before the city opened the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Six other people, including police officers, were injured and the gunman is also dead after the incident at 07:22 (19:22 GMT) on a construction site in the central business district.
PM Chris Hipkins said the attack was not being seen as an act of terrorism.
The tournament would go ahead as planned, he confirmed.
While no political or ideological motive for the attack had been identified, police had neutralized the threat and the public could be assured that there was no ongoing risk, the prime minister said.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the shooting was not in any way related to the Women’s World Cup.
The shooter, 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid, tore through a construction site with a pump-action shotgun, plunging the busy centre of New Zealand’s largest city into lockdown.
The man was known to police and had a history of family violence and mental health issues. He had been subject to a home detention order but had an exemption to work at the site. He did not have a license to own a firearm.
Hipkins addressed the victim’s families in a televised speech, saying, “The whole nation is mourning with you”.
“The victims went to work this morning as they do every morning, but they won’t be coming home tonight,” he said.
Police will look specifically into how the man got hold of a firearm despite New Zealand’s strict gun control laws.
“I’ve got confidence that they will investigate fully what happened here and they will be able to provide answers to questions we have in time,” he said.
All FIFA personnel and football teams are safe and have been accounted for. Earlier, he had warned people to stay home and avoid travelling into the city, Brown said.
“I can’t remember anything like this ever happening in our beautiful city. This morning’s events have been tragic and distressing for all Aucklanders, as this is not something that we are used to,” Brown wrote on Twitter.
FIFA expressed its “deepest condolences” to the victims’ families and said it was in communication with New Zealand authorities.
“The participating teams in close proximity to this incident are being supported in relation to any impact that may have taken place,” it said.
The opening match between New Zealand and Norway in the city’s Eden Park got under way at 19:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Sport Minister Grant Robertson said there would be extra police in the area to provide reassurance.
The ninth Women’s World Cup is being co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
