Auckland shooting: Pump-action shotguns among most common firearms in New Zealand - and as deadly as others

Pump action shotguns are a popular choice for duck hunters.

Pump-action shotguns are among the most common firearms used in New Zealand and shouldn’t be considered any more dangerous than others, says a spokesman for firearms owners.

Council of Licenced Firearms Owners spokesman Hugh Devereux-Mack said: “All firearms are capable of killing. The holder of it determines what they are pointed at and what they will destroy.”

He said pump-action shotguns appeared to offer “no particular danger - just a shorter range”.

Pump-action shotguns were able to chamber up to eight rounds, depending on the model and modifications. The type of ammunition discharged varied, with shotgun shells able to be loaded with pellets of varying sizes.

To fire the shotgun, the user “pumps” it by sliding the hand grip action back and forward to discharge a used shell and load a fresh one.

Devereux-Mack said it was the sort of firearm seen in the hands of the majority of duck hunters during the season. It is also as ubiquitous on farms as the classic .22 rifle used for pest control.

In these roles, the pump-action shotgun appeared to fit with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s cut-out for some firearms when the dramatic law changes took place.

As she told a United States talk show: “Now, we have legitimate needs for guns in our country for things like pest control and to protect our biodiversity, but you don’t need a military-style semi-automatic to do that.”

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster described how Reid had made his way through, and up, the building, repeatedly firing the shotgun. It was on these lower levels where police searching for Reid would later find two people who had been killed.

Armed police found Reid on the upper floors, where he had barricaded himself into a lift shaft.

Workers shelter on the roof of a construction site as emergency services deal with the scene of an active shooter in Downtown Auckland. Inset: Auckland shooter Matu Tangi Matua Reid.

Coster said: “The offender fired at police, injuring an officer. Shots were exchanged and the offender was later found deceased.”

“We believe the weapon is a shotgun, so not a prohibited weapon. However, the individual does not have a firearms licence so clearly should not have possessed it.”

Coster said there was nothing in Reid’s criminal record that indicated he might pose a risk and he had never been found with a firearm.

The process for getting a pump action shotgun is as straightforward as it is for any other firearm - get a licence and find a retailer.

In the case of the shotgun used in Auckland today, we now know gunman Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, did not have a licence, so it seems extremely unlikely a retailer would have provided the weapon.

The source of the weapon will be a key point of the investigation into the incident, with the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners already asking if the shotgun had a serial number and, if so, whether it was on the new register of firearms.

Given that the register launched a month ago and firearms owners have five years to register weapons, it seems unlikely the shotgun will be among the handfuls of firearms on the register.

The firearms register is one concrete change in New Zealand’s firearms landscape stemming from the 2019 Christchurch terror attack.

It is believed that eventually, tighter controls on the movements of firearms will give police better information about how they wind up in the hands of people who should not have them - such as Reid in Central Auckland today.

Other changes following the Christchurch attack included more stringent checking of those seeking to obtain a firearms licence and restrictions on the type of firearms available for sale, particularly a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons.

Armed police have swarmed on Auckland’s CBD after reports of a gunman at a building under construction near Britomart and fears there are multiple people injured. Photos / Andrew Bowen / Tony Johnson

The pathway to a lawfully owned pump-action shotgun is through a firearms licence, which are available to persons aged 16 or older who have not had one revoked in the past five years and who are not classified as a “disqualified person”.

A “disqualified person” is someone convicted in the previous decade of one of a broad range of criminal offences.

At the time of today’s attack, Reid was serving the tail end of a five-month home detention sentence - with an exception to work at the construction site - after admitting charges of impeding breathing, injuring with intent to injure, wilful damage and male assaults female.

Of the offences for which Reid was serving home detention, impeding breathing - “strangulation” - alone appears on the “disqualified person” list.

However, the firearms licencing process does warn those with convictions will likely face further questioning from police. That ties into the police’s requirement to ensure a potential licence-holder is a “fit and proper person”.

That involves determining whether someone is of “good conduct and character” through interviews with referees known to the applicant and information police “hold or receive from any source”, including health professionals.

When the firearms register was launched last month, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Beal of the Firearms Investigation Team said many firearms seized by police were being traced back to legal purchasers.

While some firearms were obtained through burglaries, he said it was possible a small group of people could be responsible for significant numbers of legally purchased weapons being diverted into criminal hands.

“Diversion is stacking up as probably the leading identifiable way that the guns are being provided. Some are coming through burglaries, but we’re not seeing any indications of that being substantial numbers, and very little suggestion of imported firearms.”