The man who stabbed six innocent shoppers in a terrorist attack - before being shot dead by police in West Auckland - was an "Isis-inspired known threat" under constant police surveillance, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
Police were following Sri Lankan national after he left home and walked into the New Lynn Countdown supermarket about 2pm today before he took a knife from a shelf and carried out the attack. He was shot and killed by police within 60 seconds.
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"This was a violent attack on innocent New Zealanders, it was senseless and I'm so sorry it happened", Ardern told a news conference this evening.
"It was undertaken by an individual who was a known threat."
Ardern revealed the terrorist is a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in October 2011 and became a person of national security interest from 2016.
The reasons he is known to agencies is subject to suppression orders, but Ardern said it was her view that it was in the public interest to share as much information as possible.
The man was under watch because of his extremist views and sympathies with Isis (also known as Islamic State and Syria).
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the man was under 24-hour surveillance at the time of the attack and understood there would be questions over whether police should have done more to prevent it.
Police were concerned about his ideology, but maintained distance while monitoring the man, he said,
"I am confident that we have done absolutely everything we can within the bounds of the law and operationally to ensure that we could prevent what occurred."
The man was "closely watched by surveillance teams and a tactical team" as he travelled from his home in the suburb of Glen Eden to Countdown in New Lynn. He took a knife from a shelf in the supermarket before carrying out the attack.
"The reality is when you are surveiling someone on a 24-hour basis it is not possible to be immediately next to them," Coster said.
He was a lone actor and there was no ongoing risk to public safety.
"We have utilised every legal and surveillance power available to us to keep people safe from this individual."
There will be multiple inquiries, she said, including from the IPCA (Independent Police Conduct Authority) and the Coroner.
"What happened today was despicable, it was hateful, it was wrong.
"It was carried out by an individual, not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity, but an individual person who is gripped by an ideology that is not supported here by anyone."
Ardern said she intended to wait for the reports to release any information she could.
"He alone carries the responsibility for these acts. Let that be where the judgment falls."
The terrorist was fatally shot by police officers and several shoppers are understood to have suffered life-threatening injuries in horrific scenes at the West Auckland supermarket this afternoon.
Three critical patients, and another in a serious condition, have been taken to Auckland City Hospital. One person in a moderate condition is at Waitākere Hospital, while another in a moderate condition is at Middlemore Hospital.
The witness wrapped the injured woman's jumper around her and still had blood on her when she spoke to The New Zealand Herald.
The witness said the woman ran out of the mall as other shoppers were screaming "he's got a knife".
As people scrambled to evacuate, others yelled: "He's got a gun" and the injured woman got up and fled the scene.
The witness says the adrenaline was still pumping after the horrific attack.
Auckland City Hospital has multiple operating theatres running to treat the injured who have suffered significant chest and neck wounds.
PM 'gutted' that man was in community
Ardern said the terror alert level in New Zealand would remain at medium, as there were "very few" people in the same category as today's attacker.
"I can tell you that agencies were using every single possible means available to them to protect the New Zealand public form this individual - every single possible means."
The Prime Minister would not say whether he was a citizen, or what his immigration status was. She said she would reveal as much as she could when she was able to.
"I was absolutely gutted," Ardern said. "The reason he was in the community was because of his inability through the law to have him anywhere else."
She said she had prepared a timeline of the man's actions that she wanted to make public but was barred by suppression orders still in place. As the orders were issued by the court, Ardern said it was up to the court to lift them, now that the man was dead.
Auckland mayor frustrated
Auckland mayor Phil Goff expressed his frustration the Prime Minister was not able to give the public any concrete information about the terrorist because of court-issued suppression orders.
Goff says he knew nothing about the Sri Lankan beforehand but added that, from his experience in government, the number of people like this individual being monitored is extremely few.
"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, and I understand that the Prime Minister of all people has to live under the law, and cannot go outside the law," Goff told Radio New Zealand today.
"But what is clear about it is that this person is an ideologically motivated terrorist ... 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."
The mayor says his thoughts are with the victims and added it was even harder to deal with this attack while the city is under Alert Level 4 lockdown due to the Covid-19 Delta outbreak.
