New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern calls Auckland stabbing incident 'terrorist attack'
Auckland/IBNS: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called the incident, where six people were stabbed by a man here, a "terrorist attack", media reports said.
Ardern said police have shot dead the man who stabbed six people at a supermarket in Auckland's suburb New Lynn.
"What happened today was despicable, it was hateful, it was wrong," the Prime Minister said.
She said the incident occurred at around 2:40 pm and the stabber was shot dead within a minute since the attack took place.
New Zealand PM Ardern says the stabbing incident was a terror attack by a Sri Lankan man, who was inspired by #ISIS https://t.co/OaIxX7vzgq pic.twitter.com/zIw423uibS
— shivendra vatsal (@vatsalshivendra) September 3, 2021
Ardern has, however, contradicted authorities' statement where they had called the incident a random attack.
The Prime Minister has described the attacker as a "supporter of IS-ideology", who reportedly arrived in New Zealand in 2011 and had roots in Sri Lanka.
"He was a supporter of IS-ideology. He was known to multiple agencies. I was personally aware of him," she said.
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