New Delhi: New Zealand Police on Friday shot dead a ‘violent extremist’ inspired by Islamic State, the prime minister Jacinda Ardern said.
The attacking police knew, Ardern added. he was a Sri Lanka The Prime Minister said, who has been in New Zealand for 10 years and has been ‘Person of Interest’ for almost five years. He stabbed and injured at least six people at a supermarket in downtown Auckland.
“A violent extremist launched a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders,” Ardern told a briefing.
He said the man was killed within 60 seconds after the attack began, saying he was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group.
“It was disgusting, it was wrong. It was done by one person, not a belief,” Ardern said. “He alone bears the responsibility for these acts.”
A video posted on social media shows shoppers new lin supermarket immediately after the attacker.
“Here is someone who has a knife… He has a knife,” a woman can be heard saying. “Someone got a knife.”
About six shots were fired before a guard asked people to exit the shopping mall.
St John’s Ambulance Service said in a statement to Reuters that three of the six injured people were in critical condition, one in critical condition and the other in normal condition.
Witnesses said they saw several people stabbing the floor outside the mall. Others said they heard gunshots when they ran out of the supermarket.
Videos posted online earlier showed panicked shoppers running out of the mall and looking for cover.
New Zealand has been on alert for attacks since a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
In May, four people were stabbed to death at a supermarket in Dunedin, New Zealand’s South Island.
(with inputs from agencies)
The attacking police knew, Ardern added. he was a Sri Lanka The Prime Minister said, who has been in New Zealand for 10 years and has been ‘Person of Interest’ for almost five years. He stabbed and injured at least six people at a supermarket in downtown Auckland.
“A violent extremist launched a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders,” Ardern told a briefing.
He said the man was killed within 60 seconds after the attack began, saying he was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group.
“It was disgusting, it was wrong. It was done by one person, not a belief,” Ardern said. “He alone bears the responsibility for these acts.”
A video posted on social media shows shoppers new lin supermarket immediately after the attacker.
“Here is someone who has a knife… He has a knife,” a woman can be heard saying. “Someone got a knife.”
About six shots were fired before a guard asked people to exit the shopping mall.
St John’s Ambulance Service said in a statement to Reuters that three of the six injured people were in critical condition, one in critical condition and the other in normal condition.
Witnesses said they saw several people stabbing the floor outside the mall. Others said they heard gunshots when they ran out of the supermarket.
Videos posted online earlier showed panicked shoppers running out of the mall and looking for cover.
New Zealand has been on alert for attacks since a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
In May, four people were stabbed to death at a supermarket in Dunedin, New Zealand’s South Island.
(with inputs from agencies)
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