Stabbing spree wounds 6; suspect shot dead by cops
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand authorities were so worried about an extremist inspired by the Islamic State group they were following him aroundthe-clock and were able to fatally shoot the man within 60 seconds of him unleashing a frenzied knife attack that wounded six people Friday at an Auckland supermarket.
Three of the shoppers were taken to hospitals in critical condition, police said. Another was in serious condition, while two more were in moderate condition.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the incident was a terror attack. She said the man was a Sri Lankan national who was inspired by the Islamic State group and was well known to the nation’s security agencies.
Ardern said she had been personally briefed on the man in the past but there had been no legal reason for him to be detained.
The attack unfolded at a Countdown supermarket in New Zealand’s largest city. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said a surveillance team and a specialist tactics group had followed the man from his home in the suburb of Glen Eden to the supermarket in New Lynn.
But while they had grave concerns about the man, they had no reason to think he was planning an attack on Friday, Coster said.
Witnesses said the man shouted “Allahu akbar” — meaning God is great — and started stabbing random shoppers, sending people running and screaming.
Coster said the man charged at responding officers with the knife and they shot and killed him.