Police share details of two mass shooting threats
Police intervened in two prospective mass shootings about the time of the Christchurch mosque terror attacks, and the country’s spy boss believes there’s a ‘‘realistic possibility’’ the terrorist will inspire another attack.
Details of the terror threats facing New Zealand emerged at the opening of a two-day hui on counter-terrorism and violent extremism, called He Whenua Taurikura, being held at the Christchurch Town Hall.
Among the speakers yesterday morning were Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Security Intelligence Service (SIS) DirectorGeneral Rebecca Kitteridge and police’s national security adviser Cameron Bayly – who shared details of two other credible mass shooting threats.
‘‘In 2019, we had a horrible day here in this city. But we came very close to having multiple potential mass shooting incidents,’’ he said.
Bayly said reports from the public led police to uncover the threats, one a few weeks before the Christchurch attack, the other two weeks afterward.
‘‘Public reporting led us to individuals, firearms and other concerning equipment, and in one case, highly detailed plans, or at least a stated intention to undertake a school shooting.
‘‘In the other case, an individual stated their intention to carry out a violent attack against targets that was still uncertain, in terms of who they were going to act against.
‘‘In each case we received one report to indicate something was amiss . . . The difference between those cases, and March 15, is one relatively vague report from the community,’’ he said.
Bayly said the examples showed that potential attacks could be disrupted. He said there was ‘‘no single profile’’ of a prospective terrorist, as the pathway to radicalisation could be unique for each person. ‘‘In some of our cases where people are involved in extremist channels online, they’re the only New Zealander involved,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve seen cases where the offender turns out to be nothing remotely like who you would assume it to be in terms of the gender, age, ethnicity or other
background, let alone their motivations.’’
Kitteridge said there were more New Zealanders inspired by white identity extremism – which motivated the Christchurch terrorist – than other extremist ideologies, including Islamic extremism.
‘‘There is a realistic possibility that the terrorist’s actions could inspire another white identity extremist attack in New Zealand,’’ Kitteridge said. ‘‘If a terrorist attack, were to be committed in
New Zealand in the next 12 months, we think it would most likely be carried out by an extremist lone actor, without any detectable forewarning, meaning that they act under the radar, don’t signal their plans in advance, or warrant the attention of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies.’’
The SIS was creating a ‘‘terrorism indicators framework’’. Such a framework would encourage people to report certain concerning behaviours to authorities.
Dr Chris Wilson, a University of Auckland senior lecturer who specialises in political violence and terrorism, said in a speech that his research of members of extremists groups in New Zealand showed that radicalisation occurred much faster online.
But in-person meetings between extremists could have a ‘‘dampening’’ effect on radicalisation, as this was because meeting someone who ‘‘seems like a hero online’’ could actually be disappointing.
The annual hui was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into the Christchurch mosque terror attacks, which made numerous recommendations about improving New Zealand’s national security after the March 15, 2019 attack in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed by an Australian terrorist.
Ardern was to attend the conference to give a speech, but appeared via videolink as her flight to Christchurch was delayed because of fog.