New Zealand Shooting Incident Ahead of Women's World Cup Tournament

Auckland – A massive shooting in the center of Auckland, New Zealand just hours before the opening of the FIFA Women's World Cup on Thursday morning. This accident kills at least two people.

The gunman was found dead after a police shootout during which an officer was shot and injured. Four civilians were also injured. The shooting happened near hotels where Team Norway and other soccer teams have been staying. 

Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkins stated that the tournament would go ahead as scheduled, "Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening there are a lot of eyed on Auckland," 

"The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning an dthe tournament will proceed as planned," Hipkins added. 

He also said: "I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the action of one individual," 

Hipkins said the shooter was armed with a pump-action shotgun. Police arrived within minutes of the first emergency call and ran into harm’s way to save lives, he said.

“These kinds of situations move fast and the actions of those who risk their lives to save others are nothing short of heroic,” Hipkins explained. 

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the gunman was a 24-year-old who had previously worked at the building site, and the motivation for the shooting appeared connected to his work there.

"The gunman had a history of family violence and was serving a sentence of home detention but had an exemption to work at the lower Queen Street site," Coster said.

The gunman began shooting at about 7:20 a.m. and police soon swarmed the area.

He moved through the building firing at people, Coster said, as many workers fled or hid. The gunman then barricaded himself in an elevator shaft on the third floor, Coster added, where SWAT-type officers engaged him after securing the floors above and below.

“The offender fired at police, injuring an officer. Shots were exchanged and the offender was later found deceased.”

Coster said it wasn’t yet clear if police had shot the gunman or he had killed himself. He said the shooter didn’t have a gun license and so shouldn’t have been in possession of a weapon.

Outside, armed police officers had the commercial business district on heavy lockdown with streets cordoned off surrounding the tourist harbor ferry terminal area. Police demanded bystanders disperse and ordered people inside their office buildings to shelter in place.

The incident comes as soccer teams and fans gathered in New Zealand for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The opening match is scheduled for Thursday between New Zealand and Norway. Hipkins said he was reviewing whether he’d attend the match as planned.

Team Norway captain Maren Mjelde said teammates woke up quickly when a helicopter began hovering outside the hotel window.

“We felt safe the whole time. FIFA has a good security system at the hotel, and we have our own security officer in the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight," she said in a statement.