By Aaron Miller-
A crazed gunman opened fire at a central Auckland building site on Thursday , leaving two people dead, including the gunman, New Zealand police said
Police responded to reports a man had fired shots in a building in downtown Auckland, two miles from Eden Park, the venue for the opening match of the tournament between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway.
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Armed cops put the commercial business district on heavy lockdown with streets cordoned off surrounding the tourist harbor ferry terminal area. Police demanded bystanders disperse and ordered those already inside their office buildings to shelter in place
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said at least six people had been injured, including a police officer, who was able to walk to an ambulance with assistance from colleagues.
Hipkins also confirmed the World Cup would go ahead as planned. He said: “Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned.
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“I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the action of one individual.”
The New Zealand and Norway teams have confirmed they are safe.New Zealand Football said it was “shocked by news of the incident in Auckland CBD”.
They added: “We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe but we will not be able to comment further while details are still emerging.”
Norway captain Maren Mjelde said people woke up quickly when a helicopter began hovering outside the hotel window.
“We felt safe the whole time,” she said in a statement. “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 .”
Football teams were gathering in New Zealand for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which begins in Auckland on July 20.
Police said the situation had been contained to a single building that was under construction in lower Queen Street but urged people to avoid the area or stay inside their buildings if already there.
“Police have contained a serious incident that unfolded at a construction site in Auckland’s CBD this morning,” a New Zealand Police statement read.
“Multiple injuries have been reported and at this stage we can confirm two people have died. The male offender is also deceased.
“This incident unfolded after reports of a person discharging a firearm inside the site on lower Queen Street at around 7.22am.
“A significant number of police responded and cordoned off the area. The Police Eagle helicopter was also deployed and provided oversight.
Acting Police Superintendent Sunny Patel said the man began shooting at the site on lower Queen Street at about 7:20 a.m. Police swarmed the area.
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