As tens of thousands of people gathered in Auckland, New Zealand, for the first game in the Women’s World Cup Thursday, a gunman opened fire on a construction site in downtown Auckland, killing two and injuring at least four others.
The shooting occurred around 12 hours before New Zealand’s match against Norway, The Associated Press reported.
The gunman — who was armed with a shotgun — was found dead in an elevator after police “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins stated in a news conference, according to CNN.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said he was unsure if the suspect was killed by the police, The New York Times reported.
The suspect, who did not have a firearm license, was under home detention orders but had an exemption to work at the construction site.
Coster added that the shooting was “believed to be related to his work there,” and that the shooting did not pose a national security risk, per CNN.
According to The New York Times, “This was the first major shooting in New Zealand since the country banned most semiautomatic rifles in 2019,” following a mass shooting that killed 51 people.
Reactions to the Auckland shooting
FIFA issued a statement in response to the shooting, extending its “deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives.”
New Zealand Football also issued a statement following news of the incident:
“New Zealand Football are shocked by the incident in Auckland CBD this morning,” the statement reads. “We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe.”