At least six people have been injured in a lone-wolf stabbing attack at a supermarket in the New Zealand city of Auckland, before police shot him dead, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The man, known to the government’s “multiple agencies”, was killed within 60 seconds after beginning the attack at noon, Ardern said on Friday, adding that he had been inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.
"We were doing absolutely everything possible to monitor him and indeed the fact that we were able to intervene so quickly, in roughly 60 seconds, shows just how closely we were watching him," Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said.
The man was a Sri Lankan national and had been living in New Zealand since 2011.
"A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders," Jacinda Ardern told a briefing on Friday.
She said: "This was someone who was known to our national security agencies and was of concern and was being monitored constantly. There are very few that fall into this category."
"What happened today was despicable, it was hateful, it was wrong," Ardern said after the latest attack.
"It was carried out by an individual, not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity. He alone carries the responsibility for these acts."
Asked about the man's motivations, she said "it was a violent ideology and ISIS-inspired", using an acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group.
"I know that we've been doing everything that we could, so I was absolutely gutted," she said, describing her feelings upon learning about the stabbings.
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Ardern would not disclose exactly how many other terror suspects were under surveillance in the community, saying only "there are very few people who fall into this category".
"To everyone who was there and who witnessed such a horrific event, I can't imagine how you are feeling but thank you for rushing to the aid of the people who needed you," she said.