CNN –
At least two people have died in central Auckland after what the city’s mayor described as a shooting to New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ.
Police in New Zealand said Thursday morning local time that several injuries had been reported and “at this point in time we can confirm that two people have died.” The male perpetrator also died.”
The police have launched an investigation and are asking people to avoid the area, it said on Twitter.
CNN affiliate Newshub said it filmed a man covered in blood being carried from the scene by police. He was treated at the scene by an ambulance after gunshots were heard at the scene, sources said.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told RNZ he receives regular information from the police but it is difficult to know exactly what is happening.
Police had previously said a “serious incident in Auckland’s CBD” was contained “at a building on lower Queen Street which is under construction”.
Brown described it to RNZ as “a terrible thing happening in our town at a time when the rest of the world is watching us play football”.
The reported shooting casts a shadow over the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which is due to start in Auckland later on Thursday.
“That doesn’t happen here. In fact, I’m shocked it happened here,” Brown told RNZ.
Brown urged residents to avoid traveling downtown. “It’s a scary situation for Aucklanders on the Thursday morning commute. Please stay home, avoid downtown travel,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Auckland Transport says passengers coming into the city should delay their journey. Barriers are in place to drive people out of the area. All connecting roads are closed,” he added.
The New Zealand parliament voted to ban military semi-automatic weapons in 2019, weeks after the Christchurch massacre killed 50 people.
Then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told lawmakers they would give “a voice” to those killed in the mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques, which Ardern described as “the darkest day in New Zealand history”.