Delta outbreak, floods and a terrorist attack: West Auckland's 'week from hell'

Sunday, 5 September 2021

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the attacker was a known terrorist threat and under 24/7 surveillance by police. It was the surveillance team who shot him dead at the supermarket.

The week started with major flooding that saw homes evacuated and ended with seven people injured in an Isis-inspired terror attack at a Countdown supermarket.

All while the region is stuck in alert level 4 lockdown after the Delta variant of Covid-19 emerged in the community.

As described by Waitākere ward councillor Shane Henderson, it was the “week from hell” for West Auckland.

Henderson said West Aucklanders were feeling hurt and angry – and were wanting answers about what had led to 32-year-old Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen grabbing a knife from the shelves of Countdown in New Lynn’s LynnMall and attacking seven shoppers.

The attack happened at the Countdown supermarket at Lynn Mall.

* Auckland terror attack: Victims aged between 29 and 77, three still in critical condition

* Auckland terror attack: 'He looked like an evil guy' says man who confronted terrorist

* Auckland flooding: 400 homes without power, 11 rescued after storm

Waitākere ward councillor Shane Henderson said there had been an “outpouring of love” following the week’s events in West Auckland.

He was shot dead by the police surveillance team that had been monitoring him 24/7.

As of Sunday, three of the victims remained in Auckland City Hospital in critical but stable conditions.

Kumeū business owners use a kayak to ferry goods from a flooded warehouse the day after the August 31 floods last year.

Another person remained in the hospital in a stable condition.

Despite the pain West Aucklanders were feeling, Henderson said there had been an “outpouring of love” and people had really banded together.

It had been difficult given the alert level 4 restrictions – meaning support had mostly been online as people remained in their household bubbles.

Many West Auckland places, including supermarkets and schools, had become locations of interest after people who had caught the virus were infectious while visiting them.

19082021 News Photo: Abigail Dougherty/Stuff. Second day into the Covid19 level 4 snap lockdown, people wearing masks queue at Countdown Mt Roskill in Auckland to go food shopping.

But some bubbles had been forcibly popped at the beginning of the week when downpours caused floods across the region.

Kumeū was hit hard by flooding, many businesses and homes severely damaged. The suburb experienced its second wettest day on record.

Te Henga/Bethells Beach remained “cut off” after floodwaters destroyed part of the road – and contractors are working to fix it as soon as possible, Henderson said.

“There’s the physical clean-up, but there’s also the mental wellbeing. It’s really scary to see floodwaters rushing up and in some cases, people’s houses have flooded and boats and cars floated off down the road,” Henderson said.

“That’s terrifying mentally for people. The clean-up and recovery will be both physical and mental.”

In his time with Auckland Council, Henderson said he had never seen so much happen in just one week.

“It’s been an emotional time,” he said,

“I’ve never seen anything like this, and you don’t think a terrorist attack is going to happen in [your] community. It’s shocking, and you worry about your own family.”

Former Waitākere City mayor Sir Bob Harvey said Friday’s tragedy had struck the West Auckland community deeply.

LynnMall, New Zealand’s first ever shopping mall, was the “heart” of the west and a real community mall.

For it to be the scene of such an event was tragic, Harvey said.

Despite being “deeply disturbed” for all involved, Harvey said West Auckland was resilient and deeply caring – and would be able to move forward.

Harvey said West Aucklanders had a “rich identity” and “strong spirit” to help and support one another.