A 41-year-old charged with murdering two people and attempting to kill a third has appeared in the North Shore District Court in Auckland.Police say the accused man knew the victims.The man appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon wearing an orange jumper and trackpants. He was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody until his next appearance at the High Court on 19 August.The man was charged with two counts of murder and one of attempted murder after incidents at two properties on the North Shore on Tuesday night.Police were called to Seon Place in Birkdale shortly after 8.20pm on Tuesday after reports someone had been stabbed. They found a man with "moderate injuries".The alleged offender was arrested at the same address."While speaking with this male, information has prompted us to dispatch a unit to a property at Lingfield Street in Glenfield to conduct a welfare check," police said in a statement.A property on Lingfield Street has been cordoned off.Nick Monro / RNZA man and a woman were found dead at the second address.A scene guard was in place at both scenes and police would be conducting examinations over the coming days.Lingfield Street resident Priyanka said the couple were beloved neighbours. "They were very nice and friendly. I saw them yesterday the morning when I was going to crop my daughter at school and they said 'how are you'"Priyanka's daughter, who asked not to be named, called the couple aunty and uncle. "It's so hard when you see someone and you don't know it's the last time," she said.Across the road another neighbour said she saw the police arrive just before 9pm."I was out here when they first got here and at the beginning it was very rushed. The cops were running up and down… then when they went instead everything slowed down."Hato Hone St John says ambulances were called to Lingfield Street after 8pm on Tuesday.RNZ / Nick MonroSt John told RNZ it responded to the Birkdale address with an ambulance and a critical care unit around 8.25pm.A person was taken to North Shore Hospital in moderate condition.They were called to the Glenfield address at 8.50pm and were still at the scene shortly before 10pm.RNZ / Nick Monro"This is an awful set of events. I know this will leave many in our community unsettled, but what I can say at this early stage of the investigation is that the offender and victims are all known to each other," Acting Detective Inspector Megan Goldie said.While there would be an increased police presence around Birkdale and Glenfield, there was no ongoing threat to the wider community, she said.One person was taken to hospital following the incidents.Nick Monro / RNZ