David Cerven. Photo / Supplied
When David Cerven's mother was told her son was dead, shot by police in a park on Sunday, she could not believe it, a friend says.
"She's devastated, she's absolutely devastated," Renata Marko, a close family friend living in Canada, said.
"She said to me: 'I cannot believe it, it can't be David, there's something wrong with the whole thing.'
"She only has two boys and now one of them is gone, and it's like her whole world has suddenly come to an end."
Cerven, 21, of Slovakia died on Sunday evening after a confrontation in Myers Park with armed police officers.
Ms Marko said Cerven's mother Maria, who lives in Slovakia and works with special needs children, had so far been given very little information about the circumstances surrounding her son's death."
"She has no idea what has happened. She was just told he was shot in a park, and that was it."
Ms Marko said the death didn't make any sense to her either, and she had trawled the internet for news articles, hoping to find it wasn't Cerven.
She said the young man last spoke with her husband in April, not long after he arrived in New Zealand with his Slovakian girlfriend.
Cerven was excited about his holiday, and the opportunity to try life somewhere a little bit better, she said.
"He was happy to meet new people, learn their culture and everything that comes with it."
Ms Marko said Ms Cerven knew her son had taken out a bank loan just before heading to New Zealand, but did not think it was to pay for knee surgery."
"She said it (the amount borrowed) was quite high."
She said David had never been to Iraq, or in the US Army."
"He'd never been to the US before he came to visit us and we spent the day in Seattle shopping - that was it."
"She said he had been looking at doing a student exchange in the US in 2011, but it had fallen through."
After finishing business academy in Slovakia, which Ms Marko said was like high school, Cerven spent the summer months of 2012 with her and her husband in Vancouver, where he made many friends and trained at a kickboxing gym.
After he returned to Slovakia in September 2012, he began teaching boys to fight voluntarily.
"He was well brought up, very helpful, very human. Everybody liked him," Ms Marko said.
One of Cerven's Vancouver friends, Tyler Bowles, visited the young man in Slovakia, and watched him fight professionally.
"He was an incredible host and very welcoming. He was genuinely excited to see me ringside for his fight and very excited to show me his city."
Cerven's knee injury is understood to have affected his ability to fight, which Mr Bowles said must have been devastating.
"It was his passion and he did it with pride and honour ... For him to not be able to practice the sport he loved would have been a terrible setback for him."
Police have remained tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding the Cerven's death, refusing to say whether or not he was armed, or how many times he was shot.
Superintendent Richard Chambers said the investigation team was still working on the homicide case but could not go into any further detail.
"In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation at this point, we are unable to be specific about how many shots were fired or how many officers discharged firearms in Myers Park on Sunday evening."
As police removed bagged items from David Cerven's Queen St flat yesterday, details continued to emerge of the young Slovakian man's life and his dark state of mind in the days leading up to his death.
Two former workmates, who wished to remain anonymous, said though the 21-year-old was a "really good guy", he was "distraught" after the end of a two-year relationship.
Some have speculated that Cerven had a death wish, that he wanted to be shot by police in a "suicide by cop" scenario.
Police continue to refuse to disclose information of whether a weapon was found at the scene of the fatal shooting.
But Auckland city district commander, Superintendent Richard Chambers said "for operational reasons and in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, Police are not in a position yet to discuss or disclose in detail what evidence was found at the scene.
"Interviews with key witnesses need to be completed and I hope to be able to share further information once these have been done," he said.
The workmates said they believed Cerven's death was "very deliberate" and would have been planned for months.
"He knew what he was up to. He was set on dying. But we never thought he was going to do it this way," one man said.
"I told him to his face that he was messed up and that he needed to sort his shit out - that there was plenty of other options to get money.
"I said, 'Have you asked your mum whether she wants her son, or her loan paid?' But he was set on not giving her the option."
Yesterday, two police officers were seen removing clear plastic bags containing items - possibly including clothing and laptop computers - from Cerven's apartment building.
And at Myers Park, an area stayed cordoned off and guarded by police after a kaumatua and kuia blessed the place where Cerven was shot dead. Nearby a bunch of purple flowers was tied to a fence.
Speaking from Vancouver, Canada, Yousuf Moghni and Victoria Safronova said their friend was kind, shy and funny, with a huge amount of love for his mother.
Cerven lived in Canada for three months in 2012, where he trained at a mixed martial arts club. During that time he became close friends with Ms Safronova and Mr Moghni. "He didn't have a lot of money, but he was such a nice guy, he would never ask for anything," Ms Safronova said.
This meant the group of friends spent much of the summer having barbecues at the beach and cooking dinner at home.
"It was a very happy time for him," she said.
Mr Moghni was angered by the unexplained circumstances of Cerven's death, saying he had heard it was nearly impossible to get hold of a gun in New Zealand.
He believed Cerven was depressed, and family had spoken with him, saying the Slovakian had been crying a lot in the days leading up to his death, Mr Moghni said.
He believed Cerven had become frustrated by a knee injury that was affecting his fighting, and was worried about money his mother had borrowed to pay for surgery.
"I don't think he had a good support system around him."
The pair were unaware of Cerven having ever fought or sustained a knee injury in Iraq, as he had told former colleagues in Auckland.
Oto Zapletal told Slovakian media Cerven was not violent. "He took kick-boxing only as a sport. He tried to avoid any conflicts. He was an excellent sportsman. Unfortunately, an injury didn't allow him to continue."
Mr Zapletal said Cerven had won kickboxing championships in Europe since 2006.
Another Slovakian newspaper reported that he was well known throughout his region, where he coached junior fighters.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (4pm to 6pm weekdays)
• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• The Word
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• CASPER Suicide Prevention
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 8.30pm.