By Seyi Babalola
A gunman, Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, killed two and injured five people in downtown Auckland a few hours before the Women’s Soccer World Cup tournament began in New Zealand.
Reid opened fire with a pump-action shotgun at construction workers and cops inside the building before he was shot dead in a 40-minute rampage at a waterfront construction site, Daily Mail reported on Thursday.
Armed police stormed the building and searched for Reid, where he barricaded himself in a lift on the top floor and fired at construction workers and policemen.
After the shooting, which began at 7.22 am, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as police did not believe the rampage was linked to the World Cup.
Norwegian football team captain, Maren Mjelde, and her team who were asleep just a few hundred metres away from where the shooting occurred said that they were woken up by a helicopter and emergency vehicles and added that all the players were safe.
“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,” Mjelde said.
The Norwegian team will be facing the hosts New Zealand in the opening match.
