A Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011 went on an ISIS-inspired rampage by pulling out a sharp knife from the shelf of an Auckland mall's supermarket and stabbed six people who came his way, killing three and seriously injuring the others.
The terrorist was shot dead by the police within 60 seconds of pulling the knife. The injured were immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment and are in critical condition. The attack happened at the New Lynn Countdown supermarket.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster confirmed in a press conference that the man was under ''police surveillance'' for his extremist beliefs and was ''closely watched by surveillance teams and a strategic tactical team.''
Apart from revealing that the terrorist is from Sri Lanka, Ardern said that further information about the identity of the attacker is covered by court suppression orders. ''Information about the attacker is covered by court suppression orders,'' said the PM.
As further details about the terrorist is withheld, social media is ripe with conspiracy theories claiming that the Sri Lankan ISIS terrorist is groomed by Pakistan in order to terrorize the people of New Zealand.
Conspiracy theorists took to Twitter claiming that the man had previously visited Pakistan in an effort to be groomed as a terrorist and was trained there to carry out an attack on New Zealand soil.
Auckland's Mayor Phil Goff slammed Jacinda Ardern for not giving out complete information about the terrorist and reports state that his office is seeking the court's urgent lifting of the suppression order and will be filed this evening.
Goff says he knows nothing about the man despite being the Mayor of the city due to the court's suppression order and wants his identity to be known to the people.
''What's frustrating for all of us who have just listened to the Prime Minister and the police commissioner is that they were constrained from sharing all of the information that they know about this individual, because of a court order. But what is clear about it is that this person is an ideologically motivated terrorist,'' said Goff to Radio New Zealand.
Goff was also taken aback at how the terrorist managed to wreak havoc in under a minute and appreciated the police for acting swiftly and taking him down with bullets. ''It's appalling that he could cause so much hurt in the space of a minute, just with a knife. But I guess the police interceded as quickly as they were able and ultimately, he has paid the price of his actions.''
