Constable Matthew Hunt and another officer were on duty in a marked police vehicle in Massey, West Auckland, at around 10.36am on Friday 19 June 2020 when they decided to stop a vehicle because of the way it was being driven.

The vehicle attempted to evade the officers and crashed into parked cars in Reynella Drive, injuring a member of the public. A person in the vehicle presented a firearm and opened fire at the police officers, fatally injuring Constable Hunt and seriously injuring his colleague.

Constable Hunt, aged 28, had been in Police for just two years and eight months. He had previously served on the front line in Orewa and Helensville before moving to the Waitematā Road Policing Team based at Harbour Bridge Police Station.

Before joining Police, he had completed a BA in Criminology and worked at Auckland Prison as a Case Manager. He spent time living and travelling overseas before returning to New Zealand to fulfil his life-long dream to become a police officer.