CCTV footage shows Ahamad Samsudeen before his knife attack at LynnMall supermarket. Video / Supplied
A coroner’s inquest into a terror attack at a New Lynn supermarket in September 2021 began today.
Six people were injured in the knife attack by Islamic State supporter Ahamed Samsudeen, who was fatally shot by undercover police.
Survivors said today their trauma is ongoing, and they were critical of government agencies’ responses to the attack.
Warning: Descriptions of graphic violence
Harrowing footage of a terror attack at an Auckland supermarket has been shown to a court for the first time.
A coronial inquest began in Auckland today on events surrounding the knife attack in the New Lynn Countdown supermarket in September 2021 by IslamicState supporter Ahamed Samsudeen.
The courtroom in Newmarket was temporarily closed to members of the public this afternoon as CCTV footage was played of the frenzied attack. A group of about 10 survivors and family members remained in the public gallery.
The first video shows the terrorist’s movements before the attack.
Samsudeen leaves the mosque where he is living - which cannot be identified - on foot about 1.30pm on September 3, 2021, wearing a green khaki camouflage hoody and pants. He briefly stops at a dairy and purchases a soft drink.
Over the next hour and 20 minutes he walks to the Glen Eden train station and catches a train to New Lynn.
Detective Senior Sergeant Jason McIntosh told the court today that on his trip, Samsudeen accessed nasheds - or hymn-like music - on his phone which promoted extremist violence.
Once at the supermarket, Samsudeen queues outside, because Covid-19 pandemic precautions are still in place. After entering, he appears to shop for a few minutes, placing food items in his shopping trolley.
Samsudeen then turns off his mobile phone, takes a kitchen knife from the shelf and places it in his trolley.
Ahamed Samsudeen was shot dead after stabbing shoppers in the New Lynn Countdown supermarket. Photo / Greg Bowker
Inside Countdown: The attack
Footage of the violent attack itself cannot be published.
It shows Samsudeen reaching into his pocket and placing a red-coloured glove on his right hand.
Samsudeen removes the knife from its packaging, and slashes it in front of him in a figure-eight pattern before breaking into a run.
He reaches the end of an aisle and places his hand on the shoulder of a male shopper before stabbing him in the torso twice.
Samsudeen moves to another shopper, a woman, and stabs her at least once while she is standing and then again as she falls to the ground.
Another shopper walks past the end of the aisle. Samsudeen walks towards her and stabs her at least three times. He then begins to run up another aisle to the front of the supermarket.
A woman is forced to the floor but is obstructed by a shopping trolley. Samsudeen stabs her five times, including with such force that the tip of the knife was later recovered during surgery from her hip bone.
Another woman begins moving down the aisle, and he chases her and stabs her. Samsudeen then lunges through swinging doors at a man, cutting him superficially.
Earlier today, McIntosh defended the specialist police officers’ decision to not follow Samsudeen into the supermarket. He was under surveillance at the time because of concerns he could commit a “lone wolf” style attack.
McIntosh said Samsudeen’s behaviour on the day was not out of the ordinary and there was no intelligence that he was about to attempt an attack.
He appeared to be planning his future at the time - engaging new lawyers, seeking a place to live, and enrolling with a healthcare clinic.
He was a regular shopper and the supermarket was not considered a “target-rich environment” because Covid-19 measures meant it was not busy.
Samsudeen was also “paranoid” about being followed and practised anti-surveillance measures. Following him could have blown the Special Tactics Group’s cover, McIntosh said.
As a result of these various factors, officers made a decision to remain outside the supermarket in a plain-clothes vehicle.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has previously concluded that this was a “reasonable’ decision.
‘He’s going to kill us’
The two police officers who fatally shot Samsudeen - who have name suppression - had their witness statements read in court.
Officer A said he remembered thinking “That’s a big knife” when he confronted Samsudeen in the supermarket aisle.
He said he pointed his Glock pistol at Samsudeen, identified himself as armed police and told him to drop the knife, while waving away members of the public in the background. Other witnesses confirmed that the officers repeatedly told the attacker to drop his weapon.
Samsudeen appeared shocked and surprised to see the police officers, Officer A said. Then his expression changed “to what I can only describe as hatred” and he sprinted towards them with the knife held out.
Officer B said that he recalled thinking “Oh s***, he’s going to try to kill us”.
The two officers shot him 12 times. Officer B said they fired multiple rounds because Samsudeen “was not going down” and still had momentum.
Earlier, the officers said that they did not have time to source alternatives to a firearm because they believed the threat to life was too great.
Earlier visit
Footage was also shown of a visit to the supermarket by Samsudeen three weeks before he had carried out the attack, in which he browsed the section where knives were being sold. He was wearing the same clothing that he later wore during the terror attack three weeks later.
The survivors of the attack have asked why this visit was not seen as an indication that he was planning an attack.
McIntosh said today that the footage was discovered in an investigation after the attack.
Police also looked at other places where he might have been able to gain knives or other weapons. There were roughly 120 places where he might have been able to gain access to weapons.
He had also worn the same camouflage clothing on seven other occasions in which he was being monitored.
Ongoing trauma
The first of three phases, the 10-day hearing in a Newmarket courtroom is focusing on the day of the attack, including Samsudeen’s movements immediately before he arrived at the supermarket and the actions of police, who were surveilling him at the time.
This morning, two of the survivors spoke of the ongoing impact of the terror attack and their frustration at the immediate and long-term response by government agencies.
A female survivor, who has name suppression, gave a statement on behalf of 12 victims and witnesses to the attack.
“Simple triggers, like the smell of milk, the sound of screaming or the wail of [sirens] can … transport us back to that moment," she said.
“For some, the mere thought of entering a supermarket has become an insurmountable obstacle and a stark reminder of the trauma we continue to endure.”
Four years on, they struggle to return to work, participate in activities they used to enjoy, or have a good night’s sleep. They have run out of sick leave and struggle to pay bills, especially for psychiatric treatment, which they claim ACC has stopped covering.
Addressing the inquest, the woman was highly critical of how long it took for the previous Government to amend a gap in the law, which had made it more difficult to prevent potential terror attacks.
Police and an ambulance at New Lynn Countdown after a terrorist attack. Photo / Alex Burton
Police had previously wanted to charge Samsudeen with planning a terror attack but were told this could not be done under anti-terrorism laws.
The woman said the legislation was not changed until 411 days after the terror attack.
“This was 411 days too late for some people in this courtroom today. Four hundred and eleven days too late for Samsudeen and his family.”
This was in contrast to the Government’s rapid, decisive changes after the 2019 mosque attacks in Christchurch, she said.
“Why was our safety not afforded the same urgency and consideration?
“This was an act of domestic terrorism yet it has felt like we have been treated as if it was simply an unfortunate incident rather than a serious and preventable tragedy that it truly was,” she added.
In an opening statement, Coroner Marcus Elliott said Samsudeen’s family, who are based in Sri Lanka, gave their condolences to the survivors. They were “still trying to make sense of what he did” on September 3, 2021.
Elliott said the people shopping in the supermarket on that day “encountered shocking violence”. Some also showed “great courage” in confronting Samsudeen as he stabbed shoppers. The attack had a “profound and lasting effect” on the survivors and witnesses, he said.
How was Samsudeen radicalised?
The second and third phases of the inquest will focus on Samsudeen’s time in prison and his stint in the community before the terror attack – in particular how he was radicalised into extreme violence and whether this could have been prevented.
The terror attack has been the subject of five previous investigations.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) ruled that two undercover police officers were justified in fatally shooting Samsudeen, because he was advancing on them with a knife and they acted in self-defence.
The IPCA also concluded that a Special Tactics Group police officer who was surveilling Samsudeen was justified in remaining outside of the supermarket rather than trailing Samsudeen more closely.
Elliott said the coroner’s inquest would not re-litigate the issues covered in previous inquiries but would look at aspects of the police response raised by survivors and their families.
Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers Auckland Issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics, social issues and healthcare.
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