Sylvia Park shooting: Police investigate after man fatally wounded at mall

A police investigation is underway after a man was fatally wounded during an incident outside Auckland's Sylvia Park shopping mall on Monday afternoon. The shooting occurred around 3 p.m. in Mt Wellington, prompting a significant police and ambulance response and causing parts of the mall to enter lockdown.

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I couldn’t see him after that, but I heard three gunshots.

Witnesses described chaos unfolding, with multiple gunshots heard. One shopper reported seeing a man approaching the shopping center carrying what appeared to be a firearm. "I couldn't see him after that, but I heard three gunshots," the witness told the Herald.

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It was five or six shots ... I thought that’s not a car backfiring.

Another witness recounted hearing "five or six shots" and realizing it was more than a car backfiring. "I heard the sirens going and saw half a dozen police cars," they told Newstalk ZB. This witness proceeded to the train platform to warn others, stating, "there's an active shooter at the mall so I wouldn't go over there if I were you."

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I heard the sirens going and saw half a dozen police cars.

Driving through the complex at the time, another witness named Nick observed "cops everywhere." He noted a hatchback car that appeared to have crashed into a central island, but was unsure if it was connected to the active shooter situation. "There were millions of police everywhere, lots of guns," he added.

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I said to everyone, ‘there’s an active shooter at the mall so I wouldn’t go over there if I were you’.