An “ISIS-inspired terrorist” stabbed and wounded at least six people in a supermarket in the city of Auckland on Friday, 3 September, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a press briefing.
Ardern called the stabbing incident a ‘terrorist attack” and said that the police already had the attacker, a Sri Lankan national, under surveillance and shot him dead within a minute of the attack.
Reuters reported she said in a briefing, "A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders."
The attacker had been in New Zealand since 2011 and had been a "person of interest" for about five years, she added. Ardern added, he had been inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
"It was hateful, it was wrong. It was carried out by an individual, not a faith. He alone carries the responsibility for these acts."New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
The St John ambulance service said in a statement, one out of the six wounded people was in serious condition, while three were in critical condition, and another person in moderate condition, Reuters reported.
Already under a strict Level-4 lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most shops are closed, while most people are at home. Supermarkets, however, remain open as an essential service.
LynnMall, the supermarket where the attack took place, is owned by supermarket chain 'Countdown'.
Countdown said in a statement, "Our hearts are heavy knowing what our team and customers have witnessed and been through", CNN reported.
New Zealand has been on alert since 15 March 2019, when two terror attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand left at least 49 people dead and at least 20 injured when shooters opened fire at two mosques while morning prayers were taking place.
(With inputs from Reuters and CNN)
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