New Zealand Police Shoot Dead Six People Stabbing At Supermarket

Police line illustration. (Unsplash/Jacob Morch)

JAKARTA - New Zealand police on Friday shot dead a gunman who stabbed six people at a supermarket in Auckland, Friday local time.

"A violent extremist carried out a terrorist attack against an innocent New Zealander", Ardern said at a briefing.

The attacker is a Sri Lankan national who has been in New Zealand for 10 years and has been an "interesting person" for about five years, PM Ardern said.

The man died within 60 seconds of starting the attack, he said, adding that he had been inspired by the ISIS terrorist militant group.

"It's hateful, it's wrong. It was committed by individuals, not beliefs. He alone is responsible for these actions", said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

A video posted on social media shows shoppers at a New Lynn supermarket shortly after the attacker launched the attack.

"There's someone here with a knife, he has a knife. Someone was stabbed", a woman said.

A guard asked people to leave the shopping center just before about six gunshots were heard.

Of the six people injured, three are in critical condition, one is in serious condition and one is in moderate condition, St John's ambulance service said in a statement.

Witnesses told reporters outside the mall they had seen several people lying on the floor with stab wounds. Others said they heard gunshots as they ran out of the supermarket.

Videos uploaded to cyberspace previously showed panicked shoppers running out of malls and seeking cover.

New Zealand has been on high alert for attacks of this kind since a gunman under the pretext of white supremacists killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch City on March 15, 2019.

Most recently, in May, four people were stabbed at a supermarket in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island.