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NZ will tighten anti-terrorism law, PM vows day after attack
Officials on Saturday confirmed that 32-year-old Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen is the extremist who was shot and killed by police after he attacked people in an Auckland supermarket with a knife, injuring seven on Friday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counter-terrorism laws this month after a knife-wielding militant known to the authorities stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket.
Officials on Saturday confirmed that 32-year-old Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen is the extremist who was shot and killed by police after he attacked people in an Auckland supermarket with a knife, injuring seven on Friday.
Ardern said earlier the man was inspired by the Islamic State militant group and was being monitored constantly but could not be kept in prison by law any longer. The Counter Terror Legislation Bill criminalises planning and preparation that might lead to terror attack, closing what critics have said has been a loophole allowing plotters to stay free.
But Ardern said it would not be fair to assume that the tighter law would have made a difference in this case. On Saturday, three of the victims remained hospitalised in critical condition and three more were in stable or moderate conditions.
