After a fatal shooting occurred in the city center of Auckland, New Zealand, on the first day of the Women’s World Cup on Thursday, teams competing in the event stated that they were safe but stunned by the incident.
A few hours before the inaugural game between hosts New Zealand and Norway was scheduled to take place at Eden Park in the city, a shooter opened fire at a construction site. There were a total of three individuals killed, including the shooter, and six more injured.
Chris Hipkins, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, stated that the championship match will continue on as planned, despite the fact that the incident left teams shaken, and at least one team remained nearby.
“New Zealand Football are shocked by the incident that occurred in Auckland this morning,” said NZ Football. “New Zealand Football” We are able to report that every member of the Football Ferns team as well as the staff is safe.
Although the Norway team hotel was in close proximity to the location where the incident took place, no one on the team was injured, and they reported that “everything is calm in the squad.”
According to Captain Maren Mjelde, they were roused from their sleep by “a large number of emergency vehicles” and a helicopter.
“At first, we didn’t know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and in the local media,” she said in a statement.
We never felt in danger at any point. The hotel where we are staying has a reliable security system, and inside our squad we have our very own security officer.
“It looks like everyone is keeping their cool, and our preparation for tonight’s game is proceeding as usual.” Then, if there are any instructions from the authorities, we might be required to make adjustments.
The tournament’s defending champions, the United States, are also stationed in Auckland for the competition, which is also being co-hosted by Australia. The United States also issued a statement that “all of our players and staff are accounted for and safe” throughout the tournament.
“Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule,” they added. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
On Saturday in Auckland, the United States will begin their championship defense against an underdog team named Vietnam. The Americans are attempting to become the first team in history to win three consecutive World Cup titles.
Hipkins assured the media that there was not currently any danger, and he also mentioned that he had discussed the matter with FIFA, the organization that governs football.
It is obvious that a lot of people’s attention is focused on Auckland right now because the FIFA World Cup begins this evening. During a press conference, he stated that the government has already had conversations with FIFA organizers and that the tournament will go on as scheduled.
“I want to emphasize once more that there is no more widespread threat to national security. It would appear that just one person is responsible for these actions.
According to reports, former New Zealand athlete Maia Jackman was in a fan zone as the unfolding event took place, and she told The New Zealand Herald, “It’s pretty scary actually.”