For the first time CCTV footage that shows LynnMall terror attacker Ahamad Samsudeen before he unleashed a vicious knife attack inside the supermarket is able to be published.
The 32-year-old Sri Lankan man was shot dead by police on the afternoon of September 3, 2021, after stabbing several shoppers inside the west Auckland Countdown.
On day one of a coronial inquest into what happened that day – which opened with statements from those injured in the attack – footage was shared showing Samsudeen’s movements in the lead up to the terror attack that injured seven.
Adamad Samsudeen injured seven people in the stabbing attack before being fatally shot by police. (Source: Supplied)
The footage that’s able to be published includes a walking map which showed the approximately 36 minutes in the lead up to Samsudeen’s attack.
It shows him leaving the west Auckland mosque where he’d been staying around 1.30pm.
He’s seen making a brief stop at the Heidi Street Dairy on West Coast Road, before walking back out onto the streets towards the Glen Eden Train Station where he boards a train and is seen disembarking at 2.20pm.
Subsequent police investigations show that during that walk he had three times accessed sites and listened to objectionable material that promoted terrorism.
Speaking on behalf of police, Detective Senior Sergeant Jason McIntosh said surveillance officers at the time had decided not to follow him in to the supermarket, because until the incident his behaviour was not out of the ordinary.
He’d also made inquiries about future work, accommodation, and engaged with new lawyers, signalling plans for the future.
Officers also feared entering the supermarket, which was quieter than normal due to level 4 Covid restrictions, could risk blowing their cover.
Footage of attack withheld
An earlier video from the month prior, on August 12, is now also able to be shared publicly. It shows Samsudeen browsing various aisles and he appeared to take particular notice of the area where the knives were kept.
The remainder of the footage, from inside the supermarket on the day of the attack, was also played in closed court, but remains subject to non-publication orders.
Police had earlier made submissions that the footage was graphic, could compromise the safety of police officers, and breached the privacy of witnesses in the supermarket during a traumatic event.
In a memo submitted to the coroner, police wrote: “Showing the footage publicly could give rise to a risk of irrational, disproportionate or otherwise inexplicable reaction from members of the public such that the safety of police officers generally becomes compromised.”
It also raised “the prospect of the footage being used to glorify the actions of any interested party is a matter of concern”.
In opening the inquiry at a hearing room in Newmarket, Auckland, this morning Coroner Marcus Elliott acknowledged all those who suffered physical and mental harm as a result of Samsudeen’s actions that day.
Over the next 10 days phase one of the three-part inquiry will look specifically at what happened on the day – in particular what happened inside the supermarket.
Phase two and and three will look more closely at the time he spent in prison and the time he spent in the community, to see if anything could have been done to prevent his radicalisation and the violent attack.
“I hope this process helps to answer some of the questions that you have,” Coroner Elliott told the victims who were in court today. He added there was no intent to revisit the conclusions of the numerous multi-agency reviews – including the IPCA report that ruled the two police officers were justified in shooting Samsudeen as they believed he posed an immediate risk.
But he said the coronial inquiry would add to those findings by seeking to find answers to the remaining questions; which included whether there were alternative options to deal with Samsudeen on that day, and whether there was some way he could have been diverted from his path.
‘We are no longer the individuals we used to be’
The inquiry also heard a number of opening statements from victims of the attack.
A woman, whose name remains suppressed, described how all of those affected by the terror attack have been “forever changed by the violent actions of one individual”.
“We have all been grappling with the symptoms that intrude upon our daily lives,” she told the court.
“Simple triggers like the smell of milk; the sound of screaming, or the wail of sirens, or the sound of helicopters, can briefly transport us back to that terrifying moment.
“We find ourselves in a constant state of high alert, caught in a relentless cycle of fight, or freeze… 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.”
She said many have struggled to return to work, or do the things they enjoy, and some have struggled to pay bills – especially those who’ve needed to pay for psychiatric treatment which isn’t covered by ACC.
“We are no longer the individuals we used to be, and coming to terms with this new reality is profoundly difficult. There is a deep longing to return to who we were.”
She says it’s a burden carried not just by the victims, but their families, children, partners, siblings and friends.
“They have all been affected, they too are forced to navigate the ripples of our trauma. Struggling to support us, while managing their own fears and anxieties.”