A scare happened hours before the actual start of the FIFA Women's World Cup after a shooting incident happened near a designated fan zone in downtown Auckland. The New Zealand police reported via Twitter that three people including the gunman died after they responded to the shooting incident “that unfolded at a construction site in Auckland's CBD.”

Acting police superintendent Sunny Patel added that the shooter began gunning down the area at around 7:20 a.m. local time. However, he too said that the suspect “was located deceased a short time later,” so it is unknown if the cops gunned the culprit down or the shooter shot himself.

Among the teams billeted near the said area is debuting squad Philippines. In a statement, the team known as the “Filipinas” said that the entire delegation is safe from danger. The Filipinas were on their way to the airport then for their trip to Dunedin ahead of their match on Friday against Switzerland.

New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins said that the FIFA Women's World Cup matches in his country will push through as scheduled, reiterating “that there is no wider national security threat” and implying that the shooting incident was more of an isolated case.

Indeed, the FIFA Women's World Cup officially began in Auckland with New Zealand, ranked 26th in the world, shocking Norway, ranked 12th, 1-0, on a 48th-minute goal from Hannah Wilkinson. New Zealand faces the Filipinas next on July 25 in the Kiwi capital of Wellington before battling Switzerland on July 30 in Dunedin.