KATHMANDU: New Zealand police has shot an ISIL supporter after carried out a lone-wolf stabbing attack at a Supermarket in the City of Auckland.

Armed police patrol the area around Countdown LynnMall after a mass stabbing incident.

The attacker described as a man known to the government’s ‘multiple agencies’ was killed within a minute after he began the attack.

“This afternoon at approximately 2:40 p.m., a violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a news conference Friday afternoon. “This was a violent attack, it was senseless, and I am so sorry it happened.”

Ardern added that the man was a Sri Lankan national, a “supporter of ISIS ideology,” and a “known security threat.” He was under constant surveillance by multiple government agencies, and security personnel were able to shoot and kill him within 60 seconds from the start of the attack, she said.

(With inputs from Reuters/CNN)