New Zealand supermarket group; Countdown, on Saturday said it has removed knives and scissors from its shelves, a day after a knife-wielding militant known to the authorities stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket.
“Last night, we made the decision to temporarily remove all knives and scissors from our shelves while we consider whether we should continue to sell them,” said Kiri Hannifin, Countdown’s general manager for safety.
“We want all of our team to feel safe when they come to work, especially considering the events of yesterday,” she said in a media statement.
Other supermarket chains had also removed sharp knives from sale, local media reported.
Police shot dead the unnamed attacker, a Sri Lankan national who cannot be named due to court suppression orders.
New Zealand Prime Minister; Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counter-terrorism laws this month. He said earlier that man was inspired by the Islamic State militant group and had been under constant police surveillance.
Police were following the man when he went into the Countdown supermarket in New Lynn mall in Auckland. They said they had thought he had gone in to do some shopping, but he picked up a knife from a display and started stabbing people. Police said they shot him within a minute of the start of the attack. Three of the six victims are in critical condition.
Ardern said the attacker had been under surveillance since 2016 because of his support for a violent ideology inspired by the Islamic State. By law the man could not be kept in prison, so he was being constantly monitored instead.
Ardern said the man arrived in New Zealand in 2011 on a student visa and was not known to have held any extreme views.
He came to the attention of police in 2016 after he expressed sympathy on Facebook for militant attacks, violent war-related videos and comments advocating violent extremism.
In May 2017, he was arrested at Auckland’s airport where authorities believed he was travelling to Syria. He was charged after restricted publications and a hunting knife were discovered at his house but was released on bail.
In August 2018, he again bought a knife and was arrested and jailed. He was released into the community in July this year when surveillance began, Ardern said.
Ardern was briefed on the case in late July and again in late August and officials, including the commissioner of police, raised the possibility of expediting the amendment to the counter-terrorism legislation.
The government has sought an urgent lifting of the suppression orders so more details on the person could be made public. Ardern is expected to address the media at 0200 GMT.
