Auckland shooting: Crane operator remained in his cab during ordeal

A crane operator remained trapped at the very top of a downtown Auckland high-rise worksite for at least an hour and a half after first shots were fired as a gunman went on a deadly rampage.

Construction workers who had already been let out watched in shock as the crane moved, and could be overheard saying at a nearby cordon, “He’s still in there!”.

The crane driver was spotted sitting in his cabin throughout the incident which left two construction workers and the shooter dead.

Police first received multiple emergency calls of a shooting at the Queen St building at 7.22am.

At 8.48am the crane could be seen moving while the building was still under lockdown, approximately an hour and a half after the incident began.

Several construction workers could be seen sheltering on the roof alongside the crane from an aerial view during the incident.

The Herald contacted the crane operator who did not want to comment.

A distressed construction worker told the Herald he encountered the gunman on the stairs of a property under development at about 7.20am.

A volley of gunshots was also heard near the scene at 8.08am.

Workers hid in the building, with some escaping to the roof of the 21-storey tower as police yelled at bystanders to get away and ushered them to shelter in the nearby HSBC building.

More than 40 people witnessed the shooting, as workers took refuge wherever possible within the building.

Workers shelter on the roof of a construction site as emergency services deal with the scene of an active shooter in Downtown Auckland. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Many workers remained in the building for several hours and some workers were seen still being let out of the building, or waiting for their friends, after 2pm.

The building is an Auckland CBD construction site on Queen St, at the heart of Auckland’s busiest domestic transport hub, where a $275 million refurbishment and upgrade was nearing completion.

The two men killed by gunman Matu Reid were both aged in their 40s worked at the construction site alongside the shooter. Police said the two victims were found dead on the lower floors.

The shooter, 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid, entered the construction site and killed two people on Queen St as school children and workers arrived in the city during the morning commute.

The gunman was an employee of a subcontractor that had been working on the project.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said Reid barricaded himself in a lift shaft and fired at police, injuring an officer. More shots were fired and the offender was found deceased.

Investigations are set to continue in the coming days, with questions remaining over the shooter’s motives, how he got a gun without a licence and how the man - who was serving a home detention sentence - was able to offend.

Jaime Lyth is an Auckland-based reporter who covers crime. She joined the Herald in 2021 and has previously reported for The Northern Advocate.