New Zealand shooter's death was suicide: Police report

Women's World Cup event kickoff was overshadowed by gunman's waterfront shooting

Last updated: July 24, 2023 | 11:03

1 MIN READ

Police officers stand at the scene of a shooting in downtown Auckland on July 20, 2023. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said a shooting that killed two people in central Auckland hours before the women's football World Cup opener July 20, 2023 was not linked to a national security threat and the tournament will go ahead as planned.

AFP

The gunman who slayed two victims during a mass shooting in Auckland on the opening day of the Women's World Cup killed himself during a shoot-out, New Zealand police said on Monday.

The tournament's kickoff in Auckland last Tuesday was overshadowed when a gunman opened fire at a building site on the city's waterfront.

A post-mortem of the 24-year-old gunman showed he was injured when shots were exchanged with armed officers, but Detective Superintendent Ross McKay said "it has also confirmed his fatal injury was self-inflicted".

Four of those injured in the shooting are still recovering in hospital, including an officer "who will have a long road to recovery", McKay added.

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