Posted on 09/03/2021 9:27:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A man from Sri Lanka believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State stabbed six people at a grocery store in New Zealand before being killed by law enforcement on Friday.
According to a statement from Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster, the unnamed man entered the Countdown Supermarket at LynnMall on 2:30 p.m. local time, took a knife from a shelf and began attacking people.
The Covert Police Specialist Tactics Group, which had tracked the man over concerns about extreme views, responded to the attack and stopped him around 60 seconds after he began the rampage. Due to court orders, the attacker's name has not yet been publicly disclosed.
Six people were stabbed by the man, with three receiving severe wounds. Victims were taken to Auckland City Hospital and Waitakere Hospital, according to the police report.
“The attacker was under constant surveillance and was today observed leaving his Glen Eden property and travelling to the supermarket, as he had done previously without incident,” stated authorities.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of today’s attack, their families and those who were caught up in this horrific event. People have an absolute right to feel safe going about their normal activities.”
While authorities concluded that the ISIS-inspired man acted alone, they have maintained a heavy police presence in Auckland as a precaution.
“The scene is currently locked down and will be the subject of an extensive scene examination. We are also in the process of compiling witness information and collecting CCTV footage,” continued Coster.
“Police will continue to have a high presence in the area and will be conducting a number of reassurance patrols over the coming period. We want to assure the community that these were the actions of a lone individual with a violent extremist ideology.”
At a press conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern commended bystanders who helped the victims.
“What happened today was despicable. It was hateful. It was wrong. It was carried out by an individual, not a faith,” said Ardern. “He alone carries the responsibility for these acts.”
Ardern said that the attacker was a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in October 2011. He became a person of national security interest in 2016.
"We have utilized every legal and surveillance power to us to try and keep people safe from this individual. Many agencies and people were involved," she said, adding that there will be multiple investigations on this attack.
Coster told reporters that law enforcement did not know the extent of the attacker's intentions and that it appeared that he was going to the supermarket for a "normal shopping expedition."
"Clearly, we have been concerned about his ideology," he said. "This individual was very surveillance conscious, and surveillance teams ... need to maintain sufficient distance for that surveillance to be effective. They were as close as they possibly could."
Ardern said that nothing indicated that the attacker would attack the supermarket.
The Auckland attack comes over two years after a gunman with extremist views entered the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch and killed around 50 Muslims.
Considered the worst mass shooting in the history of New Zealand, police apprehended the shooter before he arrived at a third location he had planned to attack.
“We strongly believe we stopped him on the way to further attacks, so lives were saved by our staff, who were courageous in their interventions,” stated then-Police Commissioner Mike Bush at the time.
ISIS was very quiet from 2017-2021.
Bump!
Was the terrorist wearing a mask?
Was he protesting the lockdown?
Was he “vaccinated?”
RE: ISIS was very quiet from 2017-2021.
Quiet but lurking... waiting for weak leadership.
He stabbed six people in 60 seconds.
Hmmmmmm……
AKA Jihadists. Jihadists. Get used to that term. We either kill them or they will kill us. No middle ground.
Trump knows this. That is why we never heard from them soon after Trump was in there.
I guess now he'll get his 72 virgins...
Yep, thats what happens when you live in a country that will not allow you to defend yourself. Time to confiscate everyones knifes.
He used a weapon he found in the store.
Hmmmmm…..
Yeah but more importantly, was this Jihadist vaccinated and wearing a face diaper
Yep. Amazing how all of a sudden they’re back in the news.
It’s almost as if something happened in the fall of 2020 to tell them the “coast is clear” and “no repercussions”.
.......”We have utilized every legal and surveillance power to us to try and keep people safe from this individual. Many agencies and people were involved”......
You failed.
But did they die of Covid?
> “The attacker was under constant surveillance and was today observed leaving his Glen Eden property and travelling to the supermarket, as he had done previously without incident,” stated authorities. <
In all seriousness, what’s the point of that “constant surveillance” if the guy can go ahead and stab six people?
Cops gave him time to break open the packaging for the knife. Must have been distracted in the donut aisle.
> Time to confiscate everyones knifes. <
You might think I’m kidding here, but I’m not. There is a move in the UK to allow the possession of blunt knives only. Maybe New Zealand will pick up on this brilliant idea.
https://reason.com/2019/10/07/the-u-k-must-ban-pointy-knives-says-church-of-england/
Well, w/o a knife the paid assassins may have to use their bare hands. I think it's already started, just read in the newspaper "Arti Chokes 2 for a dollar at the shop and save mart.
Quickmnew Zealand, lock everyone down and ban all knives
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