National leader Christopher Luxon has lauded the "incredibly heroic activity" of police and first responders to a shooting that left three dead - including the gunman - in Auckland today.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster confirmed the gunman, Matu Tangi Matua Reid, worked at a construction site in Queen Street where the incident began to unfold from around 7.20am.
The shooter did not have a licence for the shotgun he was using. Coster said police would not know whether the offender was killed by officers or took his own life until their investigation was complete. He believed the two victims were also connected to the worksite. A police officer was among several people injured in the incident.
Luxon acknowledged "that there are two people that went to work this morning and aren't going home tonight".
"I want to express on behalf of the National Party our condolences to those families that have actually lost loved ones, I want to wish a speedy recovering to those who have been injured, and importantly, also acknowledge those who would have been traumatised by the events that transpired, not that far away from here this morning.
"What we saw from our police and first responders was some incredibly heroic activity and when all of the events of today are pieced together, more and more heroes will emerge from what happened here this morning.
"I want to acknowledge that behind every police officer is a family, a partner, is parents, are kids, and they would have been watching those events unfold this morning, hoping and praying that their person was safe, and I also want to acknowledge the others who were looking at that site and was hoping that their person was also safe as a worker on that site.
"There are lots of questions that New Zealanders will have but today is not that day. Today is not a day for politics, it is really a day to remember and to express tremendous gratitude to our police officers, to our ambulance officers, to our hospital staff and members of the public who stepped up and offered help when it was most needed by so many, so we want to thank them for their efforts and want to acknowledge that that is New Zealand as its best in a really tough situation.
"There will be a day for us to talk about politics and what happened here and why it happened but that's not today.
"We don't want to get in the way. Mark (Mitchell) and I are here, we're in the central city, will try maybe connect with police in the next hour or two. I myself, am off to the opening FIFA World Cup event. New Zealanders are going to be incredibly saddened by the events here today. But tonight we have an opportunity to show the world how we come together over very difficult events like this and so I think it's important that I do that.
"When I was moving from Wellington up to Auckland this morning and first got news and you heard the word 'active shooter', that is not something that I am used to hearing in New Zealand. I was used to hearing that when I lived in America regularly, but it's not something that is normal or that happens here in New Zealand often. So tonight, as the world is on us with the FIFA World Cup opening, it's important that we come together and we show them how we come together as a country in a really difficult set of circumstances.
"We've been talking about the rising levels of crime and how people are not feeling safe in their own homes, their own businesses, their own communities, now for a year and a half. There is no doubt about it when we talk to New Zealanders up and down this country that is the reality of how they feel and quite rightfully so. We have seen crime get out of control, we have seen violent control get out of control. So again, I'm not going to get into the detail of policy and the right prescription, but we've had a comprehensive set of policies actually to think about how we reduce crime now for some time. So it's important, as I keep saying, that we pay huge respect to the police officers that were involved, pay huger respect to the families who have lost their loved ones today, but we will talk about this in the coming days, I'm sure."
Christopher Luxon Photo: RNZ / Sam Rillstone
National Party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said: "I don't want anyone to under-estimate just how difficult this situation was for the police to deal with. It's almost the worst scenario they could have put in front of them".
"You had a very big building with multiple floors, you had an active shooter, they had to recover people who had already been shot and injured, they were conscience of the fact that there were people in there who could've been taken hostage, and there were shots being fired as they arrived on scene, and I want to acknowledge our front-line staff, the ones who put the cordons up, and kept the public safe.
"I want to acknowledge our AOS and our STG members. They were fearless, and they went about their job in a professional way and they showed that they are a world-class police service that actively went in there to locate this offender and make sure that no one else was hurt or killed, and I've got no doubt in my mind that they saved loves in their actions today.
"We want to acknowledge the ambulance officers that responded, our victim support, they set up immediately down at The Cloud, and have also had support up at the hospital. Our two police officers that were injured, one of them critically, our thoughts are with their families and the entire blue family, and of course, the two guys who turned up to work like Chris said, thinking they were just going to put in a good day's work and get home safely to their families and they're not.
"Do we want to hold the government to account on this? Yes, but that is for another day. Today is about acknowledging our police officers, our first responders, and the families who have suffered a terrible tragedy today.
"The Armed Offenders Squad is my old squad, and ... They know that we're 100 percent behind them, we've got their back and we support them. We should admire and acknowledge the work that they've done today in saving lives, but it's not our time to step in and get in their way. They've got a lot of things that they need to be focused on. They'll actually be wanting to get back to their own families.
"This is a deeply traumatic experience for everyone."
Mark Mitchell Photo: RNZ / Sam Rillstone
Earlier today Luxon said on Twitter that his thoughts were with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured. He also praised the bravery of police and other first responders.
He encouraged people to "come together and support people who have been affected in this terrible incident".
