The Auckland gunman’s violent past has come to light as it’s revealed he was fired from his construction company’s employer just a day before his terrifying rampage.
Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, was found dead in the elevator shaft of a building in Central Auckland’s Commercial Bay after shooting with police early Thursday morning.
Reid was being watched by corrections officers via an ankle monitor as he stormed the high-rise building armed with a pump-action shotgun.
The builder had been fired the day before the shooting, while his two victims – in their 40s – had worked on the construction site with the 24-year-old.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ’s Breakfast the horror disaster may have been influenced by “workplace tensions”.
Reid had been given special permission to visit the construction site as part of a house arrest placed on him for committing a 2021 aggravated assault.
He was sentenced to five months in prison after he beat, kicked and strangled a woman with whom he was in an intimate relationship at the time.
Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, was shot dead by police on Thursday morning after he was discovered in the elevator shaft of a building in central Auckland.
The builder had been fired the day before the shooting, while his two victims – in their 40s – had worked on the construction site with the 24-year-old
In March, Reid admitted to charges of obstruction of breathing, injury with intent to harm, willful harm, and male-to-female assaults, the NZ announces reports.
Due to the attack on September 16, 2021, his partner suffered a bone fracture in her neck.
Sentencing notes from Judge Stephen Bonnar KC reveal that shortly before midnight, Reid was angered by something his partner said, leading to a verbal altercation.
He then pushed the woman off a chair and threw an object at her head, striking and injuring her right eye, before threatening to “take out” her and her entire family.
Reid then kicked the woman, causing her to fall backwards onto the bed, where he grabbed her throat and cut off her breathing for up to 10 seconds.
He continued to threaten his partner, telling her, “You don’t know what I’m capable of” as he grabbed a pair of scissors and shoved the handles into her side.
The violent attack culminated in a final terrifying threat from Reid, who was staying with his partner and her family in Auckland’s North Shore at the time.
“I’ve had enough, it’s time, I’m going to take you all,” he told the woman.
Investigators are working to determine the motive and cause of the shooting and how the alleged unlicensed shooter obtained a weapon (photo, police on scene)
When the woman returned to her home with police later that evening, she discovered that Reid had set fire to a small wicker basket in her bedroom.
Judge Bonnar notes that the woman suffered a fracture in one of the bones in her neck, had a swollen and black eye, as well as bruises and scrapes.
Reid denied any wrongdoing when questioned by police, telling officers the woman’s injuries were sustained during “rough sex.”
His criminal record shows a previous assault from 2020, for which he was serving a community sentence at the time of the incident.
Reid had previously been ordered to attend anger management sessions.
A cultural report submitted to the court revealed that Reid had witnessed domestic violence and physical abuse from an early age, leading him to run away from home.
Judge Bonnar noted that sending Reid to prison “could set you down the wrong path.”
Instead, the 24-year-old was sentenced to five months of house arrest to be served on a property of Flat Bush, south-east Auckland.
The terms of the house arrest to attend a nonviolent program, not to use alcohol or drugs, and not to associate with the victim.
A probation officer had recommended house arrest as a satisfactory punishment after deciding Reid had a low risk of recidivism.
Acting National Commissioner for Corrections Sean Mason said an internal review would be conducted by the Chief Probation Officer.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ’s Breakfast the horror disaster may have been influenced by ‘workplace tension’ (pictured, police on scene)
An injured police officer is escorted to a waiting ambulance. Seven people, including a police officer, are still in hospital on Friday for injuries sustained during the shooting
“While our full investigation has yet to be conducted, initial information suggests that Community Corrections staff closely monitored his compliance with these conditions,” said Commissioner Mason.
‘He had a lot of contact with the staff and had to report to his probation officer twice every ten days. He had last reported yesterday.’
Reid actively participated in the court-mandated non-violence program and had completed the drug and alcohol program, testing negative in two drug tests.
Commissioner Coster confirmed that authorities had identified the two victims and were preparing to contact their families.
Investigators are working to determine the motive and cause of the shooting and how the alleged unlicensed shooter obtained a weapon.
Seven people are still in hospital on Friday, including a male police officer.