WELLINGTON, New Zealand
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the gunman died at the scene and there was no national security threat, so the marquee tournament would go ahead as planned.
The still-unnamed 24-year-old
shooter tore through the waterfront property with a shotgun in the early
morning, plunging the busy centre of New Zealand's
largest city into lockdown.
A police officer was said to
be among those seriously injured and rushed to hospital.
His condition was said to be stable.
Little is known about the
motive of the attack, but it is not believed to be directly linked to the World
Cup or to have been politically or ideologically motivated.
But the gunman was known to
police and said to have had a history of family violence and mental
health issues.
Police said 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.
Police Commissioner Andrew
Coster said there was "nothing to suggest he presented a higher-level
risk".
Prime Minister Hipkins
expressed shock and "deep sorrow" at the rare mass shooting in New
Zealand.
But he insisted the World Cup,
which is being co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia,
would go ahead.
"Aucklanders and those
watching around the world can be assured that the police have neutralised the
threat and that they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the
incident," he said.
The "assessment from
officials is that there is no national security risk. There is no change to New
Zealand's national security threat level," he added.
"The government has
spoken to FIFA organisers
and the tournament will proceed," Hipkins said. "New Zealanders'
safety, and the safety of our visitors, are our first priorities."
At least three national soccer
teams are based near the shooting, including the reigning champion United States squad,
which said all its players and staff were accounted for and safe.
Norway's team
hotel was a few hundred metres from where the shooting unfolded.
Captain Maren Mjelde said
players were woken up by a helicopter and "a large number of emergency
vehicles". The team will face hosts New Zealand later in the day.
"Everyone seems calm and
we are preparing as normal for the game tonight. Then we may have to adapt if
there are any instructions from the authorities," she said.
Norway will take on hosts New
Zealand at the city's Eden Park after Thursday's opening ceremony.
Aucklanders had circled
today's date as the start of a month-long festival of football that
would showcase their city and country to the world.
Instead, they were woken by
the sound of police sirens and helicopters thudding overhead.
Police Commissioner Coster
said it was a "shocking and traumatic event for those people who came to
work and found themselves in the middle of an armed emergency".
Coster said armed police had
quickly tracked down the gunman to a lift shaft at the site, where he had
barricaded himself.
"The offender fired at
police, injuring an officer. Shots were exchanged and the offender was later
found deceased," Coster added.
"Tragically, police located
two members of the public deceased on the lower levels of the building
site."
In addition to the injured
police officer, Coster said five members of the public were wounded in the
incident.
He reassured match-goers and
the general public that they could travel in safety to the city centre and Eden
Park stadium for the World Cup kick-off game.
Shootings with multiple deaths
are rare in New Zealand and sweeping gun laws were introduced after the
2019 Christchurch
mosque massacre, in which 51 Muslim worshippers
were killed and another 40 wounded.
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