Floral tributes left at police stations around the country

Monday, 22 June 2020

Flowers lay outside Henderson Police Station in Auckland for Constable Matthew Hunt, who was shot and killed on Friday.

Floral tributes have been left outside police stations across the country following the fatal shooting of an officer.

Constable Matthew Hunt, 28, was shot dead during a routine traffic stop on Friday in West Auckland, in an incident that seriously injured another officer and a member of the public.

A message left outside the Christchurch justice and emergency services precinct in the wake of a fatal shooting of a police officer in Auckland.

A large amount of floral tributes have appeared outside Henderson police station in Auckland and flags were at half-mast outside Christchurch's justice and emergency precinct on Monday. Floral tributes have also appeared outside police stations in Nelson and Dunedin.

Messages alongside the tributes have included 'Kiwi's care about cops', 'Kiwi cops are cool', 'Aroha', and 'Blue lives matter.'

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A bouquet left at Nelson police station to show respect for the life of an officer killed whilst he was working in Auckland.

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Flags at half-mast at the Christchurch Justice Precinct on Monday after an Auckland police officer was killed whilst on duty on Friday.

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Flowers left in tribute to a slain police officer at Dunedin's central station.

The shooting occurred after Constable Hunt and another officer attempted to stop a vehicle of interest on Friday morning, but lost sight of it. They later found it crashed on Reynella Drive, and as they approached a man armed with a long-barrelled firearm shot at the unarmed officers.

Hunt was killed and the other officer was shot in the leg. The second officer was taken to hospital with serious injuries and was discharged on Monday.

Henderson police station was inundated with flowers and tribute messages on Monday.

Flowers lay on the grass at Reynella Drive, Auckland, close to where Constable Matthew Hunt was shot and killed on Friday.

The alleged male shooter and his alleged female accomplice were said by police to have fled in a second vehicle, allegedly hitting and injuring a member of the public in the process.

A 24-year-old man was arrested late on Friday night and charged with murder after the fatal shooting.

He appeared by audio-visual link from custody, at the Waitākere District Court on Saturday, where a Justice of the Peace agreed his identity couldn't be revealed for now 'for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the investigation'.

The accused did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody to reappear in the High Court at Auckland on July 8.

No details that can identify him, like his job, can be published.

Hunt was the 33rd officer to have been killed in New Zealand in the line of duty since 1890, and the first since 2009.

In the history of New Zealand policing, 22 officers have been shot and killed since 1890. Since 2002, 15 officers have been wounded by firearms.

A 30-year-old woman appeared in the court on Monday, charged with being an accessory to murder, and was remanded in custody after not entering a plea.

A karakia at the scene of the shooting on Reynella Drive in Massey on Sunday afternoon was attended by police staff, Matthew Hunt's family and members of the community.