A coroner says sufficient questions remain about whether more could have been done to prevent a Sri Lankan man from attacking shoppers at an Auckland supermarket to warrant a coronial inquest.
Ahamad Samsudeen, 32, was shot dead by police on the afternoon September 3, 2021, after attacking several shoppers at the LynnMall Countdown.
In a written statement Coroner Marcus Elliott said that, despite numerous reviews into his death, there were still questions that arose; “whether government agencies contributed to him being radicalised and whether they could have taken steps to divert him from the path to violent extremism”.
Several reviews into Samsudeen’s death, including a multi-agency coordinated review, have already highlighted how there were repeated missed opportunities to deradicalise him.
Coroner Elliott said despite these comprehensive reviews there were still some areas that warranted further inquiry to ensure government agencies were best placed to manage others in similar circumstances.
“..there is high public interest in ensuring that all possible steps are taken to prevent someone living in this country from becoming radicalised and and carrying out this type of attack,” he said.
The coroner said the inquest will look at a number of unresolved issues regarding Samsudeen’s actions in the period immediately before, during and after he was shot.
But he would not be looking further into what officers who responded knew about what was happening at the time. “That has been addressed by the IPCA which concluded that the officers were justified in shooting at him to defend themselves and others”.
His decision today comes several weeks after a hearing was held in Auckland in early March to decide the scope and shape of a coronial inquiry into the Sri Lankan refugee’s death.
No specific date has been set for the inquest — but it was planned for the second half of the year.