New Zealand police have formally identified the two men killed by a gunman in a fatal shooting in Auckland, with four injured remaining in hospital, including a police officer.
They identified the men on Sunday as Solomona Tootoo, 45, and Tupuga Sipiliano, 44, both of Auckland.
In a statement, police extended “sincere condolences to the families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones”.
The gunman, identified as Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, entered a construction site on Thursday morning at about 7.20am on Queen Street, Auckland’s main thoroughfare, where he opened fire with a pump action shotgun, killing two and injuring eight.
Reid had been working at the site and it is understood that the two men killed also worked there.
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The gunman, who had a history of family violence and was the subject of a home detention sentence, died at the scene. Police have not confirmed whether he was shot by an officer or took his own life.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident, but have not indicated any clear motive for the gunman’s actions. It is understood it may have involved his employment at the site.
The fatal shooting, which occurred hours before the Women’s World Cup kicked off in Auckland, has revived an ongoing debate about New Zealand’s gun laws among political parties and the public about gun legislation.
The subject was widely discussed in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, which sparked immediate changes to gun legislation, including the introduction of the recently opened firearms register.
As of June, all firearm license owners in New Zealand have been required to register any arms and related items on a digital platform designed to track firearms and prevent them being obtained illegally. Licence holders have up to five years to enter their details in the register.
The incident has also prompted questions as to why the offender was on home detention on charges relating to violence, and how he was able to obtain a gun. Reid was on home detention at the time of the shooting, but had an exemption to travel to the site for work.
In March 2021 he was sentenced to five months’ home detention for a violent assault in which he struck and strangled a woman, breaking a bone in her neck. He was at that time serving a sentence of supervision following an earlier assault.
Prime minister Chris Hipkins said there would be a “full review into the circumstances into the shooter’s home detention”.
A forensic scene examination at the site continues.