New Zealand authorities say Islamic terrorist stabbed 6 at supermarket; suspect dead

Authorities in New Zealand say they shot and killed an Islamic terrorist on Friday afternoon, within 60 seconds of when he started stabbing people at a supermarket.

Of the six people stabbed, three were in critical condition, one was serious and two were in moderate condition, according to outlet Stuff New Zealand.

The man, a Sri Lankan national, was a known ISIS supporter and was being followed around the clock, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, identifying the incident as a terror attack.

“A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders,” Ardern said in the briefing, BBC News reported. “What happened today was despicable, it was hateful, it was wrong. It was carried out by an individual, not a faith.”

Video taken in the store shows shoppers scattering amid the chaos.

The suspect was being watched after he was sentenced last month to one year of supervision for possession of ISIS propaganda, specifically a video of people being murdered, according to Stuff. He had been in the country since 2011, Reuters reported. – READ MORE