The Front Page: Downtown Auckland shooting: What unfolded during morning of chaos

The man at the centre of a downtown Auckland shooting rampage at a construction site on Thursday was Matu Tangi Matua Reid, aged 24. Photos / Hayden Woodward, supplied

The country was shocked to wake to news that during the morning rush, a man had entered an Auckland CBD construction site and opened fire.

After several hours of worry that spread around the globe, police confirmed at least three people have died, including the gunman, while multiple others have been injured.

Newstalk ZB reporter Tomas Rice was at the scene in the early morning and spoke to people on the ground as the events were unfolding.

He joined The Front Page podcast to give us a rundown of what unfolded as the gunman, Matu Tangi Matua Reid, entered a construction site and proceeded to open fire on people inside the building.

At the time of the shooting, Reid, 24, was serving a sentence of five months’ home detention for domestic violence charges handed down in the Auckland District Court on March 28.

Reid had appeared for sentencing in the Auckland District Court earlier this year after admitting charges of impeding breathing, injuring with intent to injure, wilful damage and male assaults female.

So, how did this all play out this morning? How did the police respond? How did bystanders feel watching this all unfold on an otherwise ordinary day? And what impact is this likely to have on the Women’s Football World Cup kicking off in Auckland this evening?

Listen to the full episode of this special edition of The Front Page podcast for a breakdown of the chaos this morning.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.