Knife attack left at least six injured in New Zealand supermarket

New Zealand Police killed a terrorist who injured six people in a supermarket in Auckland city, as confirmed by local authorities.

The attacker, a Sri Lankan citizen, had been under police surveillance since 2016 and was “a known threat to the country”, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reported at a press conference.

“What happened today is despicable, odious (…). It was not perpetrated by a belief, but by an individual“Underlined the president, who qualified the aggressor of” violent extremist “.

According to Police Commissioner Andrew Costner, the individual obtained a knife from one of the supermarkets and used it to attack customers.

Costner He also assured that the man was being watched by police officers, who were in the area when the attack began.

Emergency services confirmed that six people were injured by the assailant. Three of them are in critical condition and one in serious condition.

As reported by the German press agency DPA, five people were stabbed in another supermarket of the same chain in May.

The general manager of security of the supermarket chain, Kiri Hannifin, he lamented in a statement that “once again we feel disheartened to know what our team and our clients have had to go through”

The event was recorded in one of the cities that maintains containment of its citizens due to the high rates of the pandemic.

This week New Zealand police have arrested 19 people who have participated in various protests across the country to express their rejection against the containment imposed by a COVID-19 epidemic since August 17..

The police dissolved the ten mergers held in front of the government buildings at various locations in New Zealand, including the city of Auckland, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak and where 49 local infections were reported on Tuesday.

“While protests are the hallmark of a well-functioning democracy, the police have a very low tolerance for anyone who willfully ignore the restrictions in this current situationAccording to the New Zealand police statement.

The arrests took place for violate mobility and assembly restrictions imposed to curb COVID-19the police explained.

The protests take place in the Last day of containment for almost all countries except Auckland’s more than 1.6 million people that they must remain for two weeks below Level 4, the maximum, of social restriction due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

(With information from Europa Press)

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