'Someone's got a gun inside'

Armed with a pump-action shotgun, Matu Reid walked into 1 Queen Street early on July 20, killed two people and injured at least 10 others. This is how the shocking day unfolded.

Matu Reid. (Source: Supplied)

Matu Reid. (Source: Supplied)

Matu Reid arrived at 1 Queen Street, Auckland bright and early with dark intentions. He wore a monitoring bracelet around his ankle and carried a pump-action shotgun.

He was on home detention but had been cleared to work at the building, which was a construction site. He could go out during the day to make a living because he’d been sentenced for family violence and wasn’t thought to pose a wider risk. Today, he would prove he did.

Nick, who worked in the building, had just arrived and, along with colleagues, was planning his Thursday. Then, they heard a gunshot.

A colleague rushed out the door and came back in, sounding the warning: “Someone’s got a gun inside!”

The group crawled under desks and threw things – anything – at the door to barricade themselves in.

7:22am

The 111 calls began. Someone was shooting inside a building under construction at the bottom of Queen Street. The guy was on the third floor.

Within minutes, police were there.

Reid was making his way up the building, firing.

Ripples were felt across the city. Motorists crawling along Auckland’s motorways towards the CBD heard sirens. On the Southern, the North-Western, drivers looked in their wing mirrors and saw the yellow, blue and white of police cars and unmarked vehicles suddenly lit up with flashing lights. Drivers pulled to the left, and speeding Skodas rushed past the morning queues.

Traffic in downtown ground to a halt. Public transport was thrown into chaos.

The gentle morning light bounced off the windows of downtown buildings as Quay Street (which meets Queen Street metres from the city’s harbour) began to resemble a police car park. Officers, some holding guns, some with bright red backpacks, shrieking “First Aid”, swarmed the street.

Naveen Kumar was passing by. He saw about 20 people rushing out of the building, telling pedestrians to move.

He asked them what happened. “We saw a guy with a shotgun in his hand and he was aiming for people,” they said.

Others were stuck inside and hid where they could – under desks, in toilets.

Police had been on the scene less than 10 minutes when they went into the building. They found Reid - he’d barricaded himself inside a lift shaft. Police secured the floor above and below and then tried to engage him. He shot at them, hitting an officer. Police shot back.

Afterwards, police found Reid dead. On the lower levels of the building they found two more bodies.

8:08am

1News journalist Barbara Dreaver was outside, reporting live to audiences watching TVNZ’s Breakfast show. She was pointing out how close the ferries, that criss-cross the harbour, were when the audio erupted.

“We can hear firing. We can hear gun shots,” she said.

Behind her, police sprinted down the street.

8:10

Ana Dermer was at work, high up in the PWC building. Don’t leave the building, she’d been told. She looked out her window onto the roof of 1 Queen Street and saw construction workers, kitted out in high-viz orange, taking cover behind building materials. Some of them were lying face down, others crouching, sunlight dancing on their white helmets.

8:13am

A police officer appeared on the street, a colleague each side holding onto him. Another officer, wearing the black of the Armed Offenders Squad and Special Tactics Unit, followed behind. They guided him towards an ambulance, as blood ran down his face. He pulled off his glasses and held his shirt to his face.

10:15am

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins looked emotional as he stood in front of media in Wellington.

“It’s with deep sorrow that I can confirm that two people have been killed."

Police hadn't identified an ideological or political motivation for the shooting, he said.

11:00am

The world’s media swivelled towards New Zealand. Eyes were supposed to be on the country as it was hours away from hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Instead, the headlines were of violence.

“Gunman kills two in Auckland, but Women’s World Cup will proceed as planned, says New Zealand PM,” The Guardian said. The New York Times, the BBC and USA Today all ran similar headlines.

1:14pm

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster appeared in front of media at Auckland Central Police Hub and offered his condolences to the loved ones of those killed.

“Their lives have been irrevocably affected by this tragic situation and our thoughts are with them.”

Then he delivered news of the injured: A police officer had arrived at Auckland Hospital in a critical condition but had since stabilised, and four others were also at the hospital, injured. Later, the number of injured would rise to 10 (including two police officers).

4:46pm

Corrections didn’t name Reid but released a statement about the shooter, saying in March he had been sentenced to five months of home detention for family violence. Corrections had managed his compliance closely, but a full review would be carried out.

"He had completed an alcohol and other drug programme, and had been drug tested twice during his sentence, with negative results on both occasions. He was also actively engaged in a non-violence programme,” the statement said.

He was required to report in to his probation officer twice every 10 days, the statement said.

Perhaps the statement's most shocking fact came next: Reid had last reported in to his probation officer the day before he went to 1 Queen Street and opened fire.