Police vehicles are seen near the location of a reported shooting in Auckland, New Zealand on July 20, 2023.
A shooting that erupted inside a building in central Auckland killed at least two people and injured six others, say New Zealand officials, casting a cloud over the Women’s World Cup that was set to start later in the day.
The shooting is “an isolated incident,” and “not a national security risk,” New Zealand police said on Twitter, adding that the male shooter was also dead.
A man, covered in blood, was captured by CNN affiliate Newshub being carried from the scene by police. He was treated on site by an ambulance after gunshots were heard coming from the scene, it reported.
Police say the incident “unfolded after reports of a person discharging a firearm inside the site on lower Queen Street at around 7.22 a.m. (local time).” It added that the shooter, who was male, “moved through the building site and continued to discharge his firearm.”
When he reached the “upper levels of the building, the male has contained himself within the elevator shaft and our staff have attempted to engage with him.
“Further shots were fired from the male and he was located deceased a short time later. Details around what has exactly occurred are still emerging and Police will continue to provide updates around injuries and the circumstances,” authorities added.
During a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the Women’s World Cup, which is due to kick off later in the city on Thursday, will “proceed as planned.”
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“Clearly, 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,” the country’s prime minister said.
He reiterated that the shooting was not a national security threat. “This appears to be the actions of an individual,” Hipkins said.
Officials have asked people to avoid the city center.Nathan Frandino/Reuters
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, who described the incident to New Zealand public radio RNZ as a “dreadful thing to happen in our city at a time when the rest of the world’s watching us over the football.”
New Zealand will face Norway in the opening match on Thursday.
“This is not something that happens here, in fact I’m shocked that it’s happened here,” Brown told RNZ.
In a statement, US Soccer said that it “extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims who were killed in downtown Auckland today.”
Near the scene of the shooting, part of the police cordon was two blocks wide and numerous police cars and ambulances were seen in the area.
Looking over the cordon, Nisha, an American tourist who had traveled to Auckland to watch the World Cup, described the shooting to CNN as “incredibly tragic… especially at the start of the World Cup, there’s so many people coming in, there’s so much excitement.”
Nisha, who declined having her surname published, said news of the shooting surprised her.
“In places like New Zealand, you just assume a level of sort of safety, right?” she said.
Mass shootings are a rare occurrence in New Zealand. New Zealand’s parliament voted to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons in 2019, weeks after the Christchurch massacre left 50 people dead.
Then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told lawmakers they were giving “a voice” to those killed in the mass shooting at two Christchurch mosques, which Ardern described as “the darkest of days in New Zealand’s history.”
By Tara John, Tara Subramaniam, Mohammed Tawfeeq, and Hira Humayun
D-Ample Newspaper 