Terrorist Attack in Auckland, New Zealand

[Union of Socialist Council-Republics]

New Zealand shooting: man shot dead by police after ‘terrorist attack’ in Auckland that injured six

An attack at a New Zealand supermarket was “a terrorist attack” by a “violent extremist” who follows Islamic State ideology and who had been under heavy surveillance by police, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said.

A man was shot dead on Friday afternoon by police after entering a West Auckland supermarket and stabbing at least six people, who are now in hospital.

The alleged terrorist was a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011 and became a person of national security interest from 2016, authorities said.

Ardern said his ideology was IS-inspired, but he was a “lone-wolf”.

“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 was gripped by ideology that is not supported here by anyone or any community.

Ardern and police commissioner Andrew Coster said nothing gave the police any reason to believe there was any further threat or risk to the public.

“We have dealt with that person. We know from our extensive monitoring that he was acting alone,” Coster said.

[***]

Fatal police shootings are relatively rare in New Zealand – averaging at about 3.5 a year, according to a database of the decade from 2007 to 2017. Gun crime is uncommon in New Zealand, especially compared to other parts of the world. But it has been on the rise, despite the government’s clampdown on firearms in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.

A man believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State's particular brand of fundamentalism went on a stabbing spree in an Auckland supermarket that injured six people before being shot dead by police. The man was previously known to law enforcement and was under surveillance, having been taken to court earlier. It seems possible that he may have been inspired by the recent return of the Islamic State to media prominence following their attacks in Afghanistan, with the international terrorist organisation seeking to take advantage of the chaos left behind by the hasty American withdrawal. If so, it is quite possible that we could see a resurgence in IS-inspired attacks around the world. While only the perpetrator is thus far the only fatality of this attack, it is quite possible that we won't be so lucky next time.

So NSG, what are your thoughts on this incident? Are we likely to see a resurgence in Islamic State inspired terror, or this just a one-off thing?

[Washington Resistance Army]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

[Union of Socialist Council-Republics]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

Well, ISIS's spokesman did call for revenge in the wake of that attack. It's certainly possible that the attacker in this case may have been inspired by that.

[The Huskar Social Union]

At least none of the people he stabbed have died, hope they all recover soon.

[Arpasia]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

Yeah, this case kinda give me those "vengeance" or "coincidence" vibes.

[Valentine Z]

I just saw that on the TV in my office lounge. Wild...

Wishing for the victims' speedy recovery.

[Diahon]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

maybe, possibly, but the guy was being monitored since 2016; it's entirely possible that this was a spur-of-the-moment decision on his part, or that he noticed the surveillance tailing him at long last and decided to try and kill at least one before he got gunned down

[Dowaesk]

Oh come on. Why?
New Zealand was so nice to us. Fuck these ISIS idiots. They are just trying make the non-Muslims hate us.

[Jarvikan]

Maybe sick with all the lockdowns. Hope everyone survives with nothing major

[Antipatros]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

Could be. I think it is important to point out that the attacker apparently became a person of interest in 2016 for his support of ISIL. He arrived in New Zealand in 2011. So it appears that he was radicalized prior to the Christchurch shootings, which occurred in 2019.

That being said, the Christchurch shooting could very well have been a motivating factor for him.

[Republic Of Ludwigsburg]

Part of me has to wonder if this could be a revenge attack for the Mosque shootings.

That wouldn't be a valid excuse for killing someone. Then again, it is the IS.

[Forhillia]

Oh no! I feel so bad. For the people and the country.

[Mercatus]

Oh come on. Why?
New Zealand was so nice to us. Fuck these ISIS idiots. They are just trying make the non-Muslims hate us.

That is quite literally their goal. They want to create an atmosphere of terror to ensure the conditions are perfect for the prophesied end times. It is essentially trying to use geopolitical and religious tension to expedite doomsday.

[Alcala-Cordel]

Is everyone okay? None of the articles really talk about their condition.

[Union of Socialist Council-Republics]

Is everyone okay? None of the articles really talk about their condition.

I believe they were taken to hospital, but I'm not sure what state they're in. Presumably it was at least somewhat serious, but I haven't heard anyhting about anyone being in critical condition so hopefully everyone will be fine.

[Diahon]

Is everyone okay? None of the articles really talk about their condition.

I believe they were taken to hospital, but I'm not sure what state they're in. Presumably it was at least somewhat serious, but I haven't heard anyhting about anyone being in critical condition so hopefully everyone will be fine.

two were so stabbed as to be in critical condition last time i heard, but i haven't heard or read anything about them dying, so that's a relief, so far

what i'm really puzzled about, though, is this: are knives and other such sharp objects in new zealand sold without tamperproof covers? an attendant should've been able to notice the man trying to rip the knife out, and so made haste to either confront him and keep the knife out of his hands, or even shoo him away

[Cetacea]

I believe they were taken to hospital, but I'm not sure what state they're in. Presumably it was at least somewhat serious, but I haven't heard anyhting about anyone being in critical condition so hopefully everyone will be fine.

two were so stabbed as to be in critical condition last time i heard, but i haven't heard or read anything about them dying, so that's a relief, so far

what i'm really puzzled about, though, is this: are knives and other such sharp objects in new zealand sold without tamperproof covers? an attendant should've been able to notice the man trying to rip the knife out, and so made haste to either confront him and keep the knife out of his hands, or even shoo him away

Yes they are, kitchen knife sets are commonly displayed on shelfs with nothing other than a plastic tie holding them.

There were seven victims overall, of which six were injured, five with stab wounds and one with a dislocated shoulder.
As of 15 hours ago 4 of the 6 people stabbed were still in hospital, 3 in critical care.

The latest proposal from Government is to strengthen The Counter Terror Legislation Bill to criminalise “planning and preparation that might lead to an attack”, closing what critics have said has been a loophole allowing plotters to stay free.

Apparently the terrorist has been in Jail since 2018 (for possession of banned materials and purchasing a knife for purpose of terrorism) and only released in July this year - hence why he was still under surveillance.
Edit (new information) the terrorist was granted refugee status in 2013, the state had attempted to revoke his refugee status after his arrest 2018, but he appealed and the appeal was still going through court which meant he could not be deported previously.

[Kragholm Free States]

I believe they were taken to hospital, but I'm not sure what state they're in. Presumably it was at least somewhat serious, but I haven't heard anyhting about anyone being in critical condition so hopefully everyone will be fine.

two were so stabbed as to be in critical condition last time i heard, but i haven't heard or read anything about them dying, so that's a relief, so far

what i'm really puzzled about, though, is this: are knives and other such sharp objects in new zealand sold without tamperproof covers? an attendant should've been able to notice the man trying to rip the knife out, and so made haste to either confront him and keep the knife out of his hands, or even shoo him away

good fucking god are we really at the stage where we're looking at terrorist stabbing sprees and thinking the problem is that shops sell knives that people can take out of their packaging

can we maybe deal with actual causes of terrorism instead of trying to nanny state the problem away

e: and also the idea that it's the job of some minimum wage retail worker to confront and stop violent criminals is pretty dumb

[Vassenor]

two were so stabbed as to be in critical condition last time i heard, but i haven't heard or read anything about them dying, so that's a relief, so far

what i'm really puzzled about, though, is this: are knives and other such sharp objects in new zealand sold without tamperproof covers? an attendant should've been able to notice the man trying to rip the knife out, and so made haste to either confront him and keep the knife out of his hands, or even shoo him away

good fucking god are we really at the stage where we're looking at terrorist stabbing sprees and thinking the problem is that shops sell knives that people can take out of their packaging

can we maybe deal with actual causes of terrorism instead of trying to nanny state the problem away

e: and also the idea that it's the job of some minimum wage retail worker to confront and stop violent criminals is pretty dumb

OK, so what should we be doing then?

[Kragholm Free States]

good fucking god are we really at the stage where we're looking at terrorist stabbing sprees and thinking the problem is that shops sell knives that people can take out of their packaging

can we maybe deal with actual causes of terrorism instead of trying to nanny state the problem away

e: and also the idea that it's the job of some minimum wage retail worker to confront and stop violent criminals is pretty dumb

OK, so what should we be doing then?

How should I know? All I know is that people quite obviously aren't driven to commit terrorist attacks by the availability of the means to do so, so we shouldn't focus our proposed solutions on the availability of said means.

[Diahon]

two were so stabbed as to be in critical condition last time i heard, but i haven't heard or read anything about them dying, so that's a relief, so far

what i'm really puzzled about, though, is this: are knives and other such sharp objects in new zealand sold without tamperproof covers? an attendant should've been able to notice the man trying to rip the knife out, and so made haste to either confront him and keep the knife out of his hands, or even shoo him away

good fucking god are we really at the stage where we're looking at terrorist stabbing sprees and thinking the problem is that shops sell knives that people can take out of their packaging

can we maybe deal with actual causes of terrorism instead of trying to nanny state the problem away

e: and also the idea that it's the job of some minimum wage retail worker to confront and stop violent criminals is pretty dumb

i fail to see the problem -- if you're looking to foil attacks before they happen, a little slowing down, buying time, is always good

also, given that the man was unarmed before he got his hand on a knife, even a hovering worker spotting something amiss can be sufficient in deterring impending such as what the man had planned, or just as likely, was a decision made at the heat of the moment

[Diahon]

OK, so what should we be doing then?

How should I know? All I know is that people quite obviously aren't driven to commit terrorist attacks by the availability of the means to do so, so we shouldn't focus our proposed solutions on the availability of said means.

that wasn't apparent at all, judging from what we know of the terrorist's movements and the fact that he was unarmed (in a country that still allows for private use of firearms) before dropping by that store

[Alcala-Cordel]

Three of seven New Zealand attack victims are in critical condition - PM

Also the attacker was a refugee, so prepare for nationalist paranoia

[Diahon]

Three of seven New Zealand attack victims are in critical condition - PM

Also the attacker was a refugee, so prepare for nationalist paranoia

and aussie pols who'd go apeshit, and teens with eggs in both hands?

still, from my checking of newsfeeds since this, great to know that coverage has tended to hover towards what's known about the surveillance, rather than whispers of ramifications about new zealand migrant policy

[Vassenor]

Three of seven New Zealand attack victims are in critical condition - PM

Also the attacker was a refugee, so prepare for nationalist paranoia

I mean that was going to happen anyway. Every Islamist or probable Islamist incident is always followed by loud demands for ethnic cleansing from the right.