Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has praised ‘heroic’ efforts of emergency services after a shooting incident which unfolded in Tāmaki Makaurau this morning.
Three people are dead after a gunman stormed a CBD construction site near Britomart.
Among the dead is the shooter, police said earlier.
St. John Ambulance has reported six individuals with confirmed injuries, with three of them in serious condition.
The 24-year-old gunman made his way into the building site on lower Queen Street at 7:22 am today, according to acting Superintendent Sunny Patel.
“The offender has moved through the building site and continued to discharge his firearm,” Patel said.
“Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the male has contained himself within the elevator shaft, and our staff have attempted to engage with him.”
“Further shots were fired from the male, and he was located deceased a short time later,” Patel said.
At a press conference at the Beehive earlier Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the offender was armed with a pump action shotgun.
Police had “neutralise” the situation, although he would not be drawn on if that meant they had killed the shooter.
The shooting incident is not considered a national security risk, and the opening games of the women’s FIFA world cup scheduled for this evening will go ahead although the FIFA Fan Festival at the viaduct’s ‘Cloud’ will not open today as planned.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Auckland mayor Wayne Brown said in a joint statement they had decided “out of deep respect for those who lost their lives and those affected in downtown Auckland today”, the festivities located at the nearby Queen’s Wharf wouldn’t go forward, and the facility will open from midday Friday instead.
Police actions were “nothing short of heroic,” Hipkins told media.
“I want to thank the brave men and women of the New Zealand police.
“Police who ran into fire from the gunman straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others.
“I also want to acknowledge ambulance first responders who were there quickly on the scene this morning,” he added.
A police officer was among those injured and was seen walking toward an ambulance, assisted by colleagues.
A distressed construction worker said he encountered the gunman on the stairs of the Commercial Bay property sometime after 7.20 am.
Gunshots were heard at 8:08 am according to reporters on the scene.
Several workers at the construction site were pictured seeking safety by crouching behind piles of building materials as armed police pursued the offender.
The incident appears to have centred on the Precinct Properties building at 1 Queen Street, where construction firm L.T. McGuinness was operating.
In response to the incident, multiple roads in the CBD, including sections of Lower Hobson Street, Quay Street, Queen Street, and Lower Albert Street, were closed.
Sports Minister Grant Robertson confirmed the hotels of some of the Women’s World Cup players were in the vicinity of the cordon.
Players were going about their day as usual, he said, with some already scheduled to travel across the motu ahead of their opening games in other regions.
Police would gradually reduce the cordon throughout the day, Hipkins said.
It is not clear if the gunman or his victims knew each other.
The 24-year-old was on electronic monitoring for a number of domestic abuse-related offences.
It was too early to say if the construction site was an authorised work location, Police say.
