New Zealand police shoot dead 'ISIS-inspired terrorist' who stabbed 6 in Auckland grocery store

Police in Auckland, New Zealand, shot dead a "known violent extremist" who stabbed six people in a supermarket, in an "ISIS-inspired terrorist attack," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a news conference Friday. Three of the victims are in critical condition, one is in serious condition, and the other two are in moderate condition, BBC News reports.
Ardern said she is constrained by court order from identifying the attacker, but he was a Sri Lankan national who came to New Zealand in 2011 and has been "a known threat" since 2016. He was being closely and continuously monitored by a police surveillance team that shot him dead "within, I'm told, the space of roughly 60 seconds of the attack starting," Ardern said. The attack will be scrutinized in several investigations, she added.
Auckland is under strict lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, and supermarkets are one of the few businesses open. The attacker entered the Countdown LynMall supermarket, "as he had done before," at about 2:40 p.m. local time, then "obtained a knife from within the store," Police Commissioner Andrew Costner said. "Surveillance teams were as close as they possibly could be to monitor his activity," and they shot the man when he approached police with the knife."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Countdown's general manger of safety, Kiri Hannifin, said she was "devastated by what's taken place in our LynnMall store," and that supermarket "will be closed until further notice."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
El Palace Barcelona: old-world luxury in the heart of the city
The Week Recommends This historic hotel is set within a former Ritz outpost moments from the Passeig de Gràcia
-
The best history books to read in 2025
The Week Recommends These fascinating deep-dives are perfect for history buffs
-
July 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include the danger of talking politics at a family picnic, and disappearing Medicaid entitlements
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'