Sept 3, 2021: At least six people were injured after a ‘lone wolf’ stabbing event at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, before police shot the perpetrator dead.
A man known to “several government agencies” was killed within 60 seconds of launching the attack, Arden said Friday, adding that he was likely inspired by the ISIS group.
Talking about the attacker who has been identified as a Sri Lankan national who came to New Zealand in 2011, Ardern said the attack had been carried out by an individual and not a religion and the responsibility for the man’s actions lies entirely on him.
Ardern said she is limited to what she can say publicly about the man, who has been under surveillance since 2016 because he was the subject of court pressure orders.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said authorities believe the man is working alone and there is no further threat to the community. A video posted on social media shows shoppers at the New Lin Supermarket shortly after the attacker was killed.
“There’s someone here with a knife … he’s got a knife,” a woman is heard saying. “Somebody got stabbed.”
A security guard then tells people to leave the market after six shots ring out.
According to a statement made by the St. John’s Ambulance Service to Reuters press agency, three of the injured were in critical condition, one in serious condition and the others in moderate condition.
Eyewitnesses told reporters outside the mall that they saw several people lying on the floor with knife wounds. Others said they heard gunshots as they ran from the supermarket.
Earlier, videos posted online showed frightened shoppers running out of the mall and looking for cover.
New Zealand has been on high alert for attacks since a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
In May, four people were stabbed at a Dunedin supermarket on the New Zealand South Island.
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