More details have emerged about the victims of the shooting spree at a construction site in central Auckland on Thursday morning.
Matu Reid, 24, killed two people as he moved through the Commercial Bay precinct before hiding in an elevator shaft and engaging in a shootout with the police.
He was later found dead.
It's been confirmed the two men killed were in their 40s and worked at the site.
Four people remain in hospital, including a police officer.
It comes as questions continue to be asked about how the offender, on electronically-monitored bail, managed to get hold of a gun and fire it at his workplace.
"A scene examination will continue today at the site of yesterday's tragic incident in the Auckland CBD," acting Supt Sunny Patel said on Friday. "A cordon is in place around the immediate vicinity of the site and is expected to remain in place in the coming days, as our staff work carefully through the various building areas.
"CBD residents and workers can expect to see a continued police presence in the area as this work is undertaken.
"A priority for the investigation team today is the formal identification of the two victims who lost their lives."
Shooter didn't have gun licence, on home detention
Questions remain about how the Auckland gunman was able to get his hands on a firearm in the first place.
It has been confirmed the 24-year-old didn't have a firearms licence and was on home detention when the shooting took place. He was convicted of multiple offences including strangling a woman.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen told AM she is "very interested" to know how the man got his hands on a firearm.
"We will be finding that out," she said. "The police investigation will go through all of those steps and, in addition to the police investigation, the Department of Corrections will also be going through to make sure that there weren't any flags that were missed.
"I will say that, now that we have a gun registry that's live in New Zealand... We now have 11,000 weapons already registered.
"We do have a solution in place to keep track of people who shouldn't have weapons and make sure we keep weapons out of the hands of criminals."
But Gun Control NZ co-founder Philippa Yasbek said if the registry was introduced sooner, it may have prevented the tragedy. The Government promised the registry in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch shooting but only established it officially last month.
"We know that registries reduce the access to firearms by people with criminal intent," Yasbek told AM. "It also stops the rates of firearms thefts, so a registry may well have helped to prevent this crime."
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster acknowledged the gunman had a "reasonably significant" family violence background.
But Coster told AM it was the courts who decided the outcome of his sentence.
"I am not saying that we landed in the right place in that case, what I'm saying is young people, generally speaking, will be given greater opportunity to rehabilitate than people who are older," Coster said. "I can't speak for the court, I can't speak for the judge - we have the sentencing notes released yesterday - they need to speak for themselves."
Corrections acting national commissioner Sean Mason said its chief probation officer was carrying out a full review into the offender's management.
"While our full review is yet to be undertaken, initial information suggests that community Corrections staff managed his compliance with these conditions closely.
"He was in frequent contact with staff and was required to report in to his probation officer twice every 10 days. He had last reported in on Wednesday.
"While initial indications are that community Corrections staff were appropriately monitoring and managing his risk, the full review being carried out by our chief probation officer will identify any action we can take to help prevent a horrific tragedy like this from happening again."
The Police Association questioned whether the shooter should've received a home detention sentence, with president Chris Cahill saying he wanted to know the reasons behind Reid's sentencing.
"I get concerned when I see 'starting points' [for sentencing] and then I see 70 percent discounts so they can get home detention, and I'll be interested in that," Cahill told AM. "But, again, we have to wait to see - it's possible the sentence was in line with what is appropriate."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told media on Thursday these sorts of events aren't common in New Zealand and work is underway to prevent it from happening again.
"I met with the Police Commissioner and senior police officials this afternoon," Hipkins said. "I've got confidence that they will investigate fully what happened here and they will be able to provide the answers to the questions that we all have, in time."
Latest on injuries
Patel said on Friday three people injured in the shooting remained in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while two others had been discharged.
In addition, a police officer remained in hospital in a stable condition, Patel said. Another officer was recovering at home from their injuries.
"Support is in place for the officers and their families," Patel said.
"The events of yesterday morning were incredibly traumatic for all involved and we know New Zealanders have many questions about what occurred.
"I can assure you that a large investigation team is working to provide answers to those questions, particularly for the families of the two men who lost their lives and the other workers caught up in this tragedy."
