NZ supermarket shooting: Man shot dead by police after ‘terrorist attack’ that injured six

AUCKLAND: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pix) confirmed that the violent attack that took place at a supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland at 2.40 pm local time Friday was a “terrorist attack” carried out by an “extremist.”

The man was shot dead by police at the scene after stabbing several people at Countdown supermarket at LynnMall in Auckland’s New Lynn. St Johns Ambulance service spokesperson said at least six people were injured, including three who were in critical condition.

“A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders at a New Lynn mall Countdown supermarket,” Xinhua quoted Ardern telling a press conference in Wellington.

“It was a violent attack. It was senseless and I’m sorry it happened,“ said the prime minister, adding that the police shot the offender within roughly a minute of the attack happening.

The man is a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011 and has been closely monitored by the New Zealand Police from 2016 for his Daesh ideology, she said.

However, it is unknown whether the man is a New Zealand citizen.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster also confirmed at the press conference that the individual behind the attack was under heavy surveillance over “concerns about his ideology.”

The offender was acting alone and there was no further threat to the public, said Coster.

The person travelled from where he lived in Glen Eden to Countdown at LynnMall in Western Auckland, and was closely watched by surveillance teams.

He entered Countdown supermarket where he obtained a knife. Surveillance teams were as close as they could be, and when the commotion began they acted immediately, according to Coster.

When the man approached them with the knife he was shot dead, said Coster.

Armed police have blocked off the roads nearby and at least 10 police vehicles remain around the mall, where the supermarket is located.- Bernama