2023-07-20 05:02:02
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Security will be tightened ahead of the opening match of the women’s World Cup, scheduled for Thursday night, following a gunman killed two people at a construction site in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. some 12 hours before co-hosts New Zealand hosted Norway.
The hotel of the Norwegian national team is located near the site of the shooting attack, which occurred in the tourist area of the city, near the ferry terminal. Norwegian captain Maren Mjelde said her teammates were awakened by the sound of a helicopter flying near her hotel.
“We feel safe most of the time,” Mjelde nevertheless said in a statement. “FIFA have a good security system at the hotel and we have our own agent on campus. They all seem calm. We prepare normally for tonight’s game.
Organizers at Eden Park, where the match will take place following an opening ceremony, urged ticket holders to arrive at the stadium early.
“There will be a heightened security presence within the district and around the venue. Additional traffic control measures have been implemented,” Eden Park reported.
The attack happened on Thursday morning, at the start of the hour of traffic to the office in New Zealand’s largest city. The suspect was armed with a shotgun, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said. He added that the police arrived within a minute of the first emergency call and had taken risks to save other people’s lives.
The shooter was found dead in an elevator, Acting Police Superintendent Sunny Patel said.
In addition to the three dead, there were at least four injured, including a police officer who was taken to hospital in critical condition but was later reported stable, the New Zealand authorities reported on their Twitter account.
“The New Zealand national football team is shocked by the incident in Auckland this morning,” the team said in a statement. “We can confirm that the Football Ferns are safe, as are their staff.”
That’s the team’s nickname.
Although Hipkins said his attendance at the opening game was up for grabs, he added that the tournament would go ahead as planned. He commented that a minute of silence might be observed at the ceremony on Thursday.
“It is clear, with the fact that the FIFA World Cup starts tonight, that all eyes are on Auckland,” Hipkins said. “The government has spoken this morning with the FIFA organizers, and we will proceed as planned. I want to reiterate that there is no major threat to national security. This looks like the act of an individual.”
FIFA issued a statement in which it indicated that its president Gianni Infantino and its general secretary Fatma Samoura were in constant communication with local authorities and the teams hosted in the town.
World soccer’s governing body “has received information that this is an isolated event, not related to soccer operations, so the opening match will proceed as planned,” FIFA said.
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