The women’s World Cup will open as planned Thursday, New Zealand’s prime minister said, after a rare shooting in downtown Auckland killing two and wounding six, including a police officer, barely 12 hours before the opening game.
“Regarding the incident in downtown Auckland, all of our USWNT players and staff are accounted for and safe,” U.S. Soccer wrote on Twitter. “Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule.”Norway captain Maren Mjelde said the team heard the police arrive on the scene but did not know what was going on until seeing the news on New Zealand media websites.
At about 7:30 a.m. local time, the gunman entered the construction site on lower Queen Street, near a main train station and ferry terminal, as well as hotels and a popular mall. He fired shots as he made his way up through the building, police said.The construction site is close to the Cloud fan zone, which opened Thursday morning and will show Thursday night’s game on a big screen.
“It’s pretty scary actually. So they pushed us to the back of the cloud where we are and we’re just trying to keep sane,” Maia Jackman, a former New Zealand national player who was at the Cloud, told the New Zealand Herald.More than 40,000 people, a sell-out crowd, are expected at Eden Park stadium to watch New Zealand play Norway Thursday night. In Sydney, co-host Australia will play Ireland.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
At Least 3 Dead in Auckland Shooting on Day of Women’s World Cup OpeningAt least three people have died, including a suspect, and many others remain injured after a shooting broke out in downtown Auckland at about 7:22 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to New Zealand Police.
Read more »
Women's World Cup Opener Set To Break A New Zealand National Soccer RecordThe opener in Auckland is expected to have the biggest crowd for a soccer match in the country's history.
Read more »
New Zealand slow to embrace 2023 FIFA Women’s World CupThere are banners in downtown Auckland and an occasional big-screen advertisement, but other than that, one of the globe’s major female sporting events could easily be missed.
Read more »
Women’s World Cup Contenders guide: Odds and predictions to win in Australia and New ZealandA look at the U.S. Women’s National Team’s biggest competition at the World Cup.
Read more »
New Zealand gunman kills 2 on eve of Women’s World Cup soccer tournamentA gunman killed two people before he died Thursday at a construction site in Auckland, New Zealand, as the nation prepared to host games in the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, authorities said.
Read more »
Gunman in New Zealand kills 2 people on eve of Women's World Cup soccer tournamentNew Zealand Prime Minster Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as planned.
Read more »