A man has killed two people in Auckland, New Zealand just hours before the opening of the Women’s World Cup, shocking tens of thousands of football fans gathered to watch New Zealand play Norway in the first game of the tournament.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins outlined details of the attack in a news conference, confirming that three people had died including the gunman and several others were injured.
“At 7 a.m. local time Thursday, July 20, a man armed with a pump action shotgun opened fire on a construction site.” according to the Prime Minister.
News footage showed heavily armed police dressed in body armour and carrying rifles flocking to the scene of the frime and cordoning off portions of the business district.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said one officer was shot as he attempted to engage the gunman, and four civilians had “moderate to critical injuries.”.
New Zealand officials confirmed the Women’s World Cup opening ceremony and first game would go ahead as planned.
In a statement, FIFA said it extended “its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims”.
“FIFA has been informed that this was an isolated incident that was not related to football operations and the opening match tonight at Eden Park will proceed as planned,” the statement added.
Shootings are extremely rare in New Zealand, especially following the introduction of strict gun laws in 2019 after a mass shooting in Christchurch left 50 people dead.
