Ahamed Samsudeen took a knife from a supermarket shelf and stabbed six people. Photo: Supplied
Police believed terrorist Ahamed Samsudeen could carry out an attack "with little to no warning" at least a month before he attacked shoppers at an Auckland supermarket.
A coronial inquest into Samsudeen's death continues today, after he was shot by police during a knife attack at Countdown LynnMall on 3 September, 2021.
The coroner's counsel Anna Adams read the results of a threat assessment of Samsudeen from 5 August, 2021.
"Based on current information available regarding intent and capability Samsudeen is assessed to pose a high threat for a lone actor ideologically motivated attack," she read.
"And based on current information if an attack was to occur it would be of low sophistication, e.g use of a knife or a vehicle, and could occur with little to no warning."
The coronial inquest continued to examine Samsudeen's criminal history.
Samsudeen spent almost four years remanded in prison after he was arrested at Auckland Airport in 2017 police later found weapons and objectionable material at his home in 2018.
Providing evidence on behalf of police, Detective Senior Sergeant Jason McIntosh read the charges Samsudeen faced during that time.
"Samsudeen [was] charged with the offences including possession of offensive weapons: a hunting knife and throwing star... And the possession of objectionable publications, [including] an islamic state video on how to kill non-muslims in which a masked man cuts the throat and wrists of a restrained prisoner," he recounted.
By the time Samsudeen was sentenced in 2021, he had spent so much time in prison that authorities had no choice but to release him.
Anna Adams summarised the High Court's decision.
"The High Court concluded that because Mr Samsudeen had spent so much time in prison already he had to be credited that as time served and therefore the only option was to release him on supervision," she explained.
She turned to McIntosh for clarification.
"In terms of the position that police were in as of July 2021, is it a fair characterisation that the police were dealing with a person in the community who law enforcement were very concerned about but fundamentally was free to be in the community on supervision?" She asked.
"Yes," he replied.
Adams took McIntosh through a frame by frame analysis of the moment Samsudeen was shot by police.
Each frame captured by the security cameras represented one tenth of a second and were scrutinised in detail.
The footage showed Samsudeen moving down the aisle as the officers came around the corner at the bottom.
He took a few steps forward before stopping and looking up at the officers. Anna Adams suggested this was the moment Samsudeen noticed the police officers.
At this point his right arm was down, the knife pointing down and forward.
The officers moved towards Samsudeen with their guns pointed at his body and he paused for a moment.
Then he took a small step backwards.
"Would you agree he's moving back slightly?" Adams asked McIntosh.
"Yes," he agreed.
Both officers continued their advance towards Samsudeen, signalling for a trio of nearby shoppers to move away.
Samsudeen took a few more steps back before raising the knife so it pointed outwards.
"It appears to me he is [taking] a ready stance," McIntosh suggested.
Samsudeen angled his body towards a nearby shelf and the officers slowed as they entered point-blank range.
"Do you agree that one interpretation of this is that Samsudeen is preparing to spring forward with his knife?" Adams suggested.
"Yes that could be an interpretation," McIntosh affirmed.
This was the moment Adams suggested the first bullet was fired, prompting Samsudeen to stumble and brace against the shelf.
As Samsudeen regained his balance he hunched forward, then appeared to charge towards the officers.
Before he could get close the officers fired more shots, which caused Samsudeen to fall on floor and drop his knife.
The knife slid along the supermarket floor, far from Samsudeen's grip, bringing his spree to an end.
The inquest will continue on Friday with further analysis of other material and evidence from witnesses.
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