An Auckland gunman’s violent past has been laid bare as it emerged he was sacked by his construction company employer just days before his horrific rampage.
Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, was found dead in the lift shaft of a building in downtown Auckland’s Commercial Bay after a shootout with police early Thursday morning.
Reid was being monitored by correctional services via an ankle monitor when he hit the high-rise armed with a pump-action shotgun.
The builder was fired the day before the shooting, along with his two victims – who were in their 40s – who worked with the 24-year-old on the construction site.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ’s Breakfast that the horrific rampage may have been influenced by ‘workplace tensions’.
The revelations come as horrifying footage emerged of the moment a team of specialist police prepared to confront the shooter inside a lift shaft – including an officer who led the pack wearing gray sweatpants and a baseball cap.
10 officers wearing bullet-proof vests and black helmets are seen clearing what appears to be an empty bar under the Commercial Bay Tower after receiving reports of a gunman on the loose.
Reed was given special permission to attend work as part of his home detention sentence for aggravated assault in 2021.
He was ordered to serve five months’ detention after slapping, kicking and choking a woman he was in an intimate relationship with at the time.
The revelations come as horrifying footage emerged of the moment a team of specialist police prepared to tackle the shooter – including an officer leading the pack wearing gray sweatpants and a baseball cap (pictured).
Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, was killed after an exchange of gunfire with police inside the lift shaft of a building in downtown Auckland early Thursday morning.
In March, Reid pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure, wounding with intent to injure, willful damage and male assault on women, the NZ Herald reported.
The September 16, 2021 attack left his partner with a broken collarbone.
Sentencing notes from Judge Stephen Bonner Casey revealed that shortly before midnight Reid had become angry about something his partner had said, leading to a verbal altercation.
He then pushed the woman off a chair and threw objects at her head that hit and injured her right eye, before threatening to ‘out’ her and her entire family.
Reid then kicked the woman, causing her to fall backwards onto the bed where he grabbed her by the throat and cut off her breathing for 10 seconds.
He continued to threaten his partner, telling him: ‘You don’t know what I’m capable of’ as he grabbed a pair of scissors and pushed the handles into his side.
The violent attack culminated in a terrifying threat from Reed, who was with his partner and his family on Auckland’s North Shore at the time.
‘I’ve had enough, it’s time, I’m taking you all,’ he told the woman.
The builder was fired the day before the shooting, along with two of his victims – who are in their 40s – who worked with the 24-year-old on the construction site.
Investigators are working to determine a motive and motive for the shooting and how the alleged gunman obtained the gun without a license (pictured, police at the scene)
When the woman returned to her home with the police that night, she discovered that Reed had set fire to a small wicker basket inside her bedroom.
Judge Bonner noted the woman had a fractured bone in her neck, a swollen and black eye as well as bruises and scratches.
Reid denied any wrongdoing when questioned by police, telling officers the woman had been hurt during ‘rough sex’.
His criminal record shows a previous assault from 2020, for which he was serving a community-based sentence at the time of the incident.
Red was previously instructed to attend anger-management sessions.
A cultural report handed over to the court revealed that Reid had witnessed domestic violence and physical abuse from an early age, which led to him running away from home.
Judge Bonner noted that jailing Reid ‘could put you in the wrong place’.
Instead, the 24-year-old was given a five-month prison sentence to be served at a Flatbush property south-east of Auckland.
Terms of the home detention sentence include attending a nonviolent program, not using alcohol or drugs, and not associating with the victim.
A probation officer recommended home detention as a satisfactory sentence after deciding that Reed was at low risk of reoffending.
Acting National Commissioner of Corrections Sean Mason said an internal review would be carried out by the Chief Probation Officer.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ’s Breakfast that the horrific rampage may have been influenced by ‘workplace tensions’ (pictured, police at the scene)
An injured police officer is seen being carried to a waiting ambulance. Seven people, including a policeman, remained in hospital on Friday for injuries sustained during the shooting
Commissioner Mason said, ‘While our full review has not yet been conducted, preliminary information suggests that Community Corrections staff have closely managed compliance with these conditions.’
‘He was in frequent contact with staff, and had to report to his probation officer twice every 10 days. He last reported yesterday.’
Reid was an active participant in a court-ordered nonviolent program and completed a drug and alcohol program, testing negative on two drug tests.
Commissioner Coster confirmed that authorities have identified the two victims and are preparing to contact their families.
Investigators are working to determine the motive and motive for the shooting, as well as how the alleged gunman obtained the gun without a license.
Seven people, including a male police officer, remained in hospital on Friday.
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