AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Many of the U.S. players had just woken up and were thinking about going out for a walk or to grab a coffee when they got word there’d been a shooting close to the team hotel in the city’s central business district.
No one could leave, the players were told. Not until security knew what was happening and that the U.S. players, many of whom are easily recognizable, would be safe.
“What does that mean?” Crystal Dunn recalled Thursday afternoon. “Trying to compartmentalize everything. We’re not trying to downplay that this is a traumatic event. But at the same time it’s like, ‘OK, what does this mean for us training? Are we going to put training aside? Are we going to push it back to the afternoon?’ “
Eventually, the USWNT and the other World Cup teams staying in the Central Business District were assured the shooting that killed two and injured five others, including a police officer, was not a random act of violence. The 24-year-old gunman, who also died, worked at the building where the shooting occurred.
The U.S. women did go to their regularly-scheduled training, albeit a bit late. There, they were visited by Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who is leading the U.S. delegation to the World Cup.
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“Unfortunately, I feel like in the U.S. we’ve dealt with this far too many times,” Lynn Williams said. “There was definitely a sense of, ‘Let’s come together, we still have a job to do.’ But also recognizing there were lives lost and that’s very real and very devastating.
“I’m just thankful we were safe, the first responders came and everything was very quick.”
After confirming there was no threat to national security, New Zealand and FIFA officials said Thursday night’s tournament opener between Norway and co-host New Zealand would go ahead as scheduled. The FIFA Fan Festival, set to be held just a few hundred feet from the building where the shooting occurred, was canceled for the day.
The Fan Fest was to open at noon, but the area along the waterfront was cordoned off for most of the day as police investigated.
“We know that those who work and live in the vicinity may be feeling vulnerable. However, we can provide reassurance that there is no reason for ongoing concern about this situation,” New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“There is an increased police presence in the area and we reassure the public that they can continue to come into the CBD,” he added.
The USWNT is one of eight teams using Auckland as a base camp during the World Cup group stage, and most of the teams are staying at hotels close to the shooting. Two teams, Norway and the Philippines, are staying within steps of where the shooting occurred.
According to police, police received multiple calls at 7:22 a.m. about a person discharging a firearm on the third floor of a building that was under construction near the waterfront. The gunman had a pump-action shotgun, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said, and fired it several times as he made his way upstairs in the building.
He barricaded himself in an elevator shaft near the top of building, and exchanged fire with police. He was found dead at 8 a.m.
The police officer who was shot was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but Coster said he’s now stable. The other four injured have moderate to more serious injuries, Coster said.
“This is very real,” Dunn said. “Our condolences are with the families of the victims and the lives that were lost.”
While Thursday’s alarm was prompted by a specific event, security is often a sensitive issue for U.S. teams at international events. American athletes are sometimes warned not to wear identifying gear in public, and the U.S. team rarely has flags visible on its block of apartments in the Olympic Village.
But the USWNT is generally able to go out and about at events without any concerns.
“At the end of the day, we’re the USA. We know that every time we step out of the hotel, we need to be smart. People notice us,” Dunn said. “It’s really great, but it also comes with the responsibility of being smart about everything that you do.”
