A camera captured the dramatic moment shots rang out during a live cross from this morning's Auckland CBD shooting.
1News' Barbara Dreaver was on air with Breakfast when a number of shots were fired in the background shortly after 8am.
"We can hear firing, we can hear gunshots," Dreaver said as a number of loud shots rang out in quick succession.
Peak hour in New Zealand’s biggest city was brought to a standstill. (Source: 1News)
Police were engaging the gunman at the time at the old HSBC building at 1 Queen St, which is under construction.
They were first called to the scene around 7.22am amid reports of the gunman opening fire.
"There are shots coming from the building, there are armed police in the building," Dreaver stated as she continued reporting.
"There are more police racing down the road."
Other footage emerged on Twitter of gunshots ringing out as workers fled the construction site.
"Somethings going down, it's pretty major, there are gunshots," the person taking the video comments over the scene.
One construction worker described the moment his team barricaded themselves in a room and took shelter from the gunman.
Nick, who didn't give a last name, told Breakfast he was on level three of the building when the shooting started.
"I was just speaking to a few of the guys once we got out," Nick said. "He came up through the main entrance onto level three and started to shoot, we'd got into work about five minutes earlier and we were just planning our day in the office.
"We just heard a massive gunshot, and then one of the guys walked outside the office and came running back in.
"And he said, 'Someone's got a gun outside'."
He reported hearing another four gunshots "just a few metres away from us".
"We barricaded the office we were sitting in and started hiding under desks."
He said there were around eight of them in the room, throwing "anything at the door" to block it.
"Sitting underneath that desk hearing gunshots really drove that in," he said.
Nick managed to get a view of the shooter, telling 1News the man was standing on a staircase holding what he believes was a shotgun.
"We saw him and everyone just scattered, trying to find places to hide."
Three people including the gunman were killed in the shooting, with a further five people wounded.
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