ISIS-inspired extremist killed after stabbing six in New Zealand terrorist attack, authorities say

A knife-wielding extremist injured six people, several of them critically, at an Auckland, New Zealand, grocery store on Friday before being shot dead by police, in what authorities are describing as an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack.

The Sri Lankan national was a known security threat and under “constant” police surveillance at the time of the attack, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters.

Law enforcement officials had followed the man to the supermarket and were trailing him when he grabbed a knife from the shelves and began attacking customers. He was shot and killed by police “within the space of roughly 60 seconds of the attack starting,” Ardern said.

“The reality is, that when you are surveilling someone on a 24/7 basis, it is not possible to be immediately next to them at all times. The staff intervened as quickly as they could and they prevented further injury in what was a terrifying situation,” Andrew Coster, the country’s top police official, said.

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