An Auckland ferry user has described the chaotic scenes that faced commuters as they were "told to run" from the scene of today's fatal CBD shooting.
Piers at the city's Downtown Ferry Terminal were thrown into chaos earlier today as a gunman went on a shooting rampage less than a hundred metres away at an under-construction building in Downtown Auckland.
Ferry services were cancelled over the course of the morning, with all routes resuming operation by the early afternoon.
Waiheke local Tasha Impey said she was horrified by a decision to force passengers to leave her ferry — with armed police nearby and shots ringing out just minutes before.
"About half an hour into the ferry ride, everyone's phone started beeping with the news alerts to stay indoors, and to not go into the CBD," she said.
"We're just watching the ferry keeping on going, and then lots more news alerts coming in… We could see the police chopper, and we could see all of the police lights and ambulances.
"Someone went and asked Fullers staff: 'What's going to happen? Have you seen the news?"
Her ferry departed Waiheke at 7:30am and arrived in Auckland at about 8.10am.
1News’ Barbara Dreaver was on air when shots could be heard coming from the Quay St incident. (Source: 1News)
Police received their first report of the shooting at around 7.20am, according to a media release earlier today, and shots were again heard by a 1News camera at 8.08am.
Impey said: "Everyone was waiting for the captain to say something, and when he finally did, he told everyone to get off the ferry and run — but don’t go to Commercial Bay."
Commercial Bay is an office tower and mall that is also next to downtown ferry piers alongside the Britomart train station and the Lower Albert St bus interchange.
Train passengers emerging from the underground station were ordered by staff to use an alternate exit 200 metres further east in order to avoid its main entrance.
Impey said the ferry service was often used by secondary students to get to school and that passengers were worried about their welfare.
She said the ferry should've waited on the water instead of forcing over a hundred passengers to walk near the active police cordon.
"They told us to run," she said.
"They made everybody get off, and then everyone's there opposite the crime scene.
"So people started to put up their umbrellas to try and shelter."
Some people wanted to stay on the ferry instead, she said.
"Many people were panicking, wondering why we had to get off.
"Because of course, we were safe on the boat and it seemed like the safest option was to head back out to sea and wait for it to be over and get police clearance."
Impey told 1News she ran away from the ferry piers with a friend and sheltered in an office building. "When we finally got to the building, we just burst into tears," she said.
"People felt really exposed and thrown to the wolves."
Police raced to a construction site at the bottom of Queen St just as the work day was beginning. (Source: 1News)
The regular ferry commuter said she still felt shaken by the experience.
Fullers was approached for comment this afternoon.
A spokesperson for the company said its skippers and crew had heeded guidance from police while the situation had unfolded "at speed".
"Our skippers acted quickly and followed the guidance of New Zealand Police and authorities at the scene," they said in a statement.
"Fullers360 is proud of how its skippers and crew stepped up to keep passengers safe during what was an extremely serious situation unfolding at speed.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is always our number one priority."
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