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Multiple People Injured in New Zealand Supermarket Attack; Unprecedented Floods Kill at Least 46 in U.S. Northeast; Biden to Survey Storm Damage in Louisiana Friday; Calls for Infrastructure Spending After Ida's Devastation; New Zealand Prime Minister Addresses Supermarket Attack; New Zealand Prime Minister Addresses Supermarket Attack; Japanese Prime Minister Suga Will Not Seek Reelection. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 03, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:54]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm John Vause, coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.
Unprecedented and deadly flooding in the northeast from the remnants of a monster hurricane, which devastated parts of the south. While wildfires rage out of control in the West. Is America's climate change day of reckoning at hand?
Japan's prime minister has just announced he will not seek reelection. We're live in Tokyo with the very latest.
And here we go again. It's taken 40 years, but ABBA, finally, back together.
We'll have more on those stories in a moment but we begin this hour in New Zealand where there has been a fatal police shooting at a shopping center in a residential neighborhood of Auckland. One man is confirmed dead, others reportedly injured, some in a critical condition.
For more, CNN's Angus Watson is live this hour in Sydney.
So, Angus, what else do we know at this point?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: John the police operation there in Auckland is still unfolding. So details are only just emerging. But we do know that at about 3 30, local time, police went into a supermarket in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, where a man had entered and had attacked people. At least six people are wounded and have been taken to hospital. Our Radio New Zealand affiliate says that they are stab wounds.
Now police shot that man dead on site. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand is going to speak again in about 15 minutes -- sorry, for the first time speaking 15 minutes to update the country and the world about what's going on there in Auckland. That gives you an indication of the severity of this incident, John. VAUSE: Yes, there's still a lot of details at this point, Angus, but I
guess that's all we know, and that's what we can report on because this story continues to unfold. As far as the people who were taken a hospital, do we know their conditions? How many are in serious conditions? How many are critical, that type of thing?
WATSON: John, we know that at least three people are in a critical condition, and CNN has seen video from inside the shopping mall where there is a commotion. Of course, people trying to flee, shouting and screaming. There, in Auckland, they are under a strict lockdown at the moment as New Zealand tries to deal with an outbreak of COVID-19 so hopefully there were fewer people in the supermarket that there might otherwise have been on a Friday afternoon, John. But of course, yes, we're yet to see some more information develop from this breaking news story.
VAUSE: Angus, thank you. But just to recap here. It's a man who is now dead. It appears he had a knife because they have stab wounds. He is dead and six people have been hurt, three in a critical condition. And the prime minister of New Zealand expected to take questions in about 10 minutes or so from that. We will bring that to you as soon as it happens.
Angus, we appreciate the update. Angus Watson there in Sydney.
Well, at least 46 people are now confirmed dead after Wednesday's unprecedented flooding across the northeast United States. But hundreds of others were saved from the fast-rising waters. During the rest of the deluge, the NYPD says it made more than 400 rescues, including 69 high-water rescues. The emergency response continued into Thursday from Virginia to New England. And many homes left flooded. New York's governor said the city has never experienced anything like this before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: What we're seeing now are our cataclysmic rain events, record shattering where we have unprecedented amounts of water coming out of the heavens all at once, literally from 8 51 last night to 9:51 p.m. More water came down than we'd seen in the history of New York all at once.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least eight tornadoes formed across the region, as Ida roll through on Wednesday damaging or destroying dozens of homes. And on the Gulf Coast where Ida made landfall as a category 4 less than a week ago, the damage is widespread. Gasoline and other necessities now in short supply. About one million customers are without power and may not have power for weeks. U.S. president, Joe Biden, is expected to visit Louisiana on Friday.
[01:05:01]
CNN is following all the angles of the story across the nation. Derek Van Dam is standing by in the CNN Weather Center with more on this historic flooding event. Ed Lavandera is following the aftermath of the hurricane in Louisiana, but we begin our coverage with CNN's Miguel Marquez in hard-hit New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Raging floodwaters flowing across parts of the northeast tonight where active rescues continue in the wake of Ida. In Pennsylvania, officials estimate they've received calls in the thousands from people needing to be rescued from extreme flooding.
ELLIOT PALMER, BRIDGEPORT, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: The water was raising so high I couldn't rushed straight to the street. I had to run up the fire escape. I winded up on the roof where they had to get a boat to rescue me.
MARQUEZ: In New Jersey, rescue crews using boats to help people to safety. In the northern part of the state, floodwaters left trains in Bound Brook, submerged in a nearby stadium, filled with water. Nearly 30 miles northwest of there, in Elizabeth, at least four people drowned in an apartment complex. Officials say the victims all lived in garden level apartments next to the Elizabeth River, which rose more than eight feet at its peak last night. Meanwhile, more than 90 miles away in Mullica Hill, at least 25 homes were destroyed or badly damaged by a tornado.
This was the scene in many New York City subway stations last night caused by gushing floodwaters.
HOCHUL: Unprecedented is almost an understatement. This is the first time we've ever had a flash flood emergency declared.
MARQUEZ: Across the northeast, the death toll continues to rise. Among the victims a 2-year-old.
DONOVAN RICHARDS, QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENT: This has been a biblical storm by every means.
MARQUEZ: In Queens, the New York Police Department commissioner says at least eight people died in the basements of homes inundated with water.
JAMES WEST, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: The roads everywhere I saw coming out of the airport and beyond flooded, dozens and dozens and dozens of cars marooned, stranded.
MARQUEZ: Across the Big Apple, first responders rescued hundreds from submerged cars, including commuters stuck in stopped subway trains.
JANNO LIEBER, MTA ACTING CHAIR AND CEO: Roughly between 15 and 20 trains did get stranded and folks needed to be rescued.
MARQUEZ: In Central Park, 5.2 inches of water fell in just three hours in one in 500-year rainfall event.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to everyone affected is we're all in this together. The nation is here to help.
MARQUEZ: And help is something that will be needed, with officials warning things will only get worse because of climate change.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We are in a whole new world now. And this is a reality we have to face.
MARQUEZ (on-camera): What you're looking at here is Route 18 or the Memorial Parkway in New Brunswick. It's just across the roadway from the Raritan River. Obviously that river is still very high. That water level is coming down very slowly but my god, the power of this storm and the punch that it packed, all the way from Louisiana to here in the northeast, and searchers, rescuers, still looking for people who are in need of help here in New Jersey and across a very wide swath of the northeast.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Later today, President Joe Biden will be visiting the storm-ravaged area of southeast Louisiana. He will be meeting with the governor of Louisiana, as well as local officials in New Orleans. His mission here is to reassure residents as they are in the midst of this brutal cleanup process, to reassure them that the federal government is doing everything it can to aid the recovery process here in Louisiana, and it is extensive. And that's residents all across the region are quickly settling into.
Right now we are in Laplace, Louisiana, and here, the parish president has been telling residents that virtually every part of the electrical system in this city has been damaged in some way and that because of that getting the power back on is going to take a considerable amount of time. So she's really trying to prepare residents here to understand that this is going to be a long process, and to accept that.
And this is one of the most hard-hit neighborhoods in this area, where we've seen residents throughout the day cleaning up and trying to salvage whatever belongings they can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let's go to Derek Van Dam now, our CNN meteorologist.
And Derek, it seems we've gone from that point of predicting and warning of this stuff happening to it actually happening, and this is the real-time impact from climate change.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST. Yes. Yes, you're right John. And I think it's important for our viewers to understand that this is not some distant issue, some distant problem for our children's children. This is unfolding right before our very eyes, from the massive flash flooding that took place in Europe to the pacific northwest heat wave that caused unprecedented heat over Canada, and into the northwestern U.S. And now this.
[01:10:01]
We've got our remnants of what was a tropical storm bringing the flooding to the northeastern U.S., and then on the opposite side of the country, we have our ongoing drought leading to extreme fire behavior across many locations, including South Lake Tahoe, where the Caldor Fire continues to burn out of control.
We know that on average the earth has risen about one degree Celsius since pre-Industrial Averages. That allows more water vapor to be held within the atmosphere, and that produces at least the potential for additional, more frequent heavy rain events. And that unfolded across the northeastern U.S., unfortunately, a couple of days ago. We know the daily rainfall records were shattered in 20 different locations.
And we saw some of the most rain we've ever experienced in Central Park. But it's the rainfall rate that's really astounding here. 80 millimeters in one hour, and the last time we've set that record in Central Park was two weeks prior to that. So the earth, as it warms, we also are containing a lot of that heat into the oceans. And that provides the fuel for the strengthening of hurricanes.
Take it from me. I was in the eyewall of Hurricane Ida in southern Louisiana. That was nasty. Five straight hours of category 4 winds, sustained across that region. So climate impacts, feeling from Europe, all the way to North America, it is here -- John.
VAUSE: Derek, thank you. We appreciate the update. Derek Van Dam there. Thank you.
Well, the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida is bringing renewed calls for a huge investment and upgrading America's infrastructure. And that includes passing the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill currently before Congress. The governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, talked to CNN about the impact from that investment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. PHIL MURPHY, NEW JERSEY: The storms are coming more frequently and with more intensity. So there is no denying, and God knows the federal infrastructure bill with a lot of climate resilient infrastructure would be a game-changer.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos. She's an assistant professor at the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California in Berkeley.
Thank you for being with us. We appreciate your time.
ADDA ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN BERKELEY: Of course, thank you for having me.
VAUSE: So once again it's become obvious that 20th century infrastructure has not been built to cope or survive a 21st century crisis caused by climate change. Storms and flooding, like we saw 24 hours ago in the New York area, will only get worse.
I want you now to listen now to the senator from New York state, that's Chuck Schumer. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Whoa is us if we don't recognize these changes are due to climate change. Whoa is us if we don't do something about it quickly. Both in building resilient infrastructure and going through clean power.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So in this context, how bad is whoa, and exactly what does resilient mean when we're talking about resilient infrastructure? What does the cost? And what's the level here? What would gauges successful resilience?
ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS: So I think something that is important to understand is that when we talk about infrastructure, that involves many different types of systems and components. And what we're seeing now occur more and more frequently is a domino effect, basically, where the failure of one system affects the performance of another system so it's really important to design and to strengthen these with that always in mind.
Now of course, as you mentioned, this is going to require significant resources. And I think we cannot step away from supporting our infrastructure. We do have solutions, we have capabilities, but it is important to have the resources and the will to back that up. I think a good example is Hurricane Katrina versus Hurricane Ida, and the difference in the response of the levee systems in New Orleans.
It is something that we're going to be looking into with reconnaissance efforts very soon to compare the difference between the response of a strengthened system.
VAUSE: Well, in New Orleans, you have a situation where $15 billion were spent upgrading the levee system. And that worked great, preventing the flooding like we saw during Katrina. But the cities are without power because the electricity is out because the grid collapsed, that would seemed to be an example of an incomplete, a lot more needs to be done.
ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS: Exactly. No, I agree that, as I mentioned before, these are highly complex, interconnected systems. And we need to design them and address them as such. This is why it's important to use these disasters to turn them into knowledge. Study exactly what happened, what worked well because it's important to be able to recognize that and then move on and understand what didn't and what can be done better next time.
VAUSE: You know, computer modeling has been able to forecast fairly well the overall trends and the changes which is happening in our climate and where we're heading. There is a lot of specific data on how extreme the extremes will actually get.
[01:15:01] That seems to be the missing part of the puzzle right now. How can you build infrastructure to survive a weather event 30 years in the future when you don't know how bad that weather event could be?
ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS: This is an excellent point. And I think this is the challenge that we face. We are constantly updating our models in terms of the forecast. Whether that is a surge following a hurricane or a wind gust. And I think we need to continue to learn from the disasters that we experience. We need to use our best projected models. And this is why it's really important to investigate every single event so that we can continue to validate and calibrate our models to make them better in terms of being able to predict.
At the same time, I think we need to realize that we are never going to be able to eliminate risk. What we are trying to do is reduce risk. Reduce the loss of human life. Of course, first and foremost, make our communities more resilient so that even if affected by certain failures they can quickly bounce back, and it's very important to be able to do that in an equitable way, so that everybody has access to such resources.
VAUSE: The infrastructure bill which has passed the Senate in the United States, it's now in the House of Representatives. There's billions of dollars in that bill for climate change investment for resilience within infrastructure. That's now being debated. How much time do we have essentially to wait for these sort of political arguments to unfold before this money starts be spent? Because what happens in the United States influences the rest of the world. You know, this country sets the benchmark, others tend to follow. So what happened here is important. But there seems to be so much time now being wasted and has been wasted up until this point.
ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS: In my opinion, there is no longer time to waste. Climate change is here. I was watching the early part of your segments. I think the evidence is overwhelming. We definitely need to act now. And we need to continue to support the improvement of our infrastructure. The engineers are offering new solutions and the ability, basically to reimagine certain parts of the infrastructure so that it can accommodate our new needs.
VAUSE: Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos -- I hope I got that right -- thank you. We really appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.
ATHANASOPOULOS-ZEKKOS: Of course. Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Still to come, huge crowds of Afghans rushed to leave the country with deadly results at one border crossing into Pakistan. More details on that in a moment. We're also standing by for a news conference by the police commissioner and the prime minister of New Zealand about a fatal police shooting at a shopping mall. Those details and that news conference when it happens here live on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back. Taliban fighters are manning checkpoints and appear to be firmly in control of the Afghan capital and expectations are now rising that soon the Islamic militants will announce the formation of a new government.
[01:20:06]
Qatar is working with Turkey to reopen Kabul airport. It remains unclear, though, when flights will presume.
Let's go now to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand where the prime minister and the police commissioner are answering questions about a fatal police shooting a shopping center in Auckland.
JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: What we know about this event and also what we know about the terrorist. But first I want to acknowledge the six innocent people who have been hit. Three I understand are seriously injured. This was a violent attack. It was senseless and I am so sorry it happened. The attack began at 2:14 p.m. and was conducted by an individual who was known threat to human.
The individual was under constant monitoring, and it was the police surveillance team and special tactics group who were part of that monitoring and surveillance that shot and killed him, who then, I am told, despite roughly 60 seconds of the attack happening. The detail of the events today I will pass to Commissioner Andrew Coster to provide details of the special tactics group operation. He will say more of what we know about the terrorist and government's efforts to protect New Zealanders from him.
ANDREW COSTER, NEW ZEALAND POLICE COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Prime Minister. As the prime minister has said, this individual was under heavy surveillance as a consequence of concerns about his ideology. Today, he traveled from where he lived in New Zealand to the countdown (INAUDIBLE) as he had done before. He was constantly watched by surveillance teams and a tactical team to monitor his actions and behavior. He entered the store as he had done before. He obtained a knife from --
VAUSE: Having a few technical problems there with that feed from New Zealand. But just to recap what we've heard there from the prime minister, first off describing the attacker as a terrorist and the attack is a violent and senseless. She passed her regrets and her apologies to the six innocent victims of this attack.
What is interesting, though, is that the attacker traveled from Dunedin, now that is a town on the South Island all the way to the north island into Auckland. And also that is where he bought a knife, it appears, at the shopping center and then wounded those six other people at the shopping center. This man was actually under constant surveillance by police and a tactical team.
Let's go back now to Wellington for the rest of this news conference. Here's the police commissioner.
COSTER: The reality is that when you are surveilling someone on a 24/7 basis it is not possible to be immediately needs to be at all times. The started intervening as quickly as they could and (INAUDIBLE) the injury and what was a terrifying situation. ARDERN: Thank you, Commissioner Coster. I want to share some
additional information. This information is not as complete as I would like for reasons I'll explain on shortly. The terrorist is a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in October of 2011. He became a person of national security interest from 2016. The detailed reasons he is known to the agencies is the subject of suppression orders made by the court.
In my view, it is in the public interest to share as much as we can in this case. I am seeking advice on what we can do to facilitate that sharing of information as soon as possible. What I can say is that we have utilized every legal and surveillance power available to us to try and keep people safe from this individual. Many agencies and people were involved and all were motivated by the same thing, trying to keep people safe.
I know there will be many questions about this case, and we need to confront and address each and every one of them. And we will as a matter of course and good practice the multiple inquiries including the IPCA and importantly the coroner's inquiry. It is not my intention to wait for these reports to release what we can but they will provide additional insight into this attack.
Before I open up for question, what happened today was despicable. It was hateful. It was wrong. It was carried out by an individual, not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity.
[01:25:07]
But an individual person who was gripped by ideology that is not supported here, by anyone or any community. He alone carries the responsibility for these acts. Let that be where the judgment falls.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prime Minister, the police commissioner mentioned that the police officers prevented more happening, maybe this is for the police commissioner, (INAUDIBLE) what was planned. Can you give us a scale of what the person was planning to do?
COSTER: We've had absolutely nothing that would tell us the extent of his intentions or indeed that he particular intentions today to go and do this act. Based on our surveillance, what we could tell is that he was undertaking what appeared to be a normal shopping expedition. However, clearly we have been concerned about his ideology and that's why he was under surveillance and what the company and tactical team to be able to intervene.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: For people sitting at home they'll look at this and say if he was being surveilled and so closely watched, why did it -- why were six people abled to be injured before he was shot? Can you explain that?
COSTER: This individual is very surveillance conscious and surveillance teams working with an offender over an extended period of weeks need to maintain special distance for their surveillance to be effective. So they were as close as they possibly could be without compromising the surveillance.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prime Minister, so --
ARDERN: He's someone that has been closely monitored, and so as the commissioner has said, there was nothing that we were aware of at this point of time that indicate that what he was going to do today was going to happen today. But obviously because he was being closely followed and watched, they were there at the vicinity and the supermarket at the time that this occurred.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prime Minister, sources just told us that he was recently released from jail. Can you confirm that? And Commissioner, just following on from cases question if this man was on a terror watchlist, why was he allowed in the community?
ARDERN: I had prepared a timeline of everything that we know of this individual in his interaction with our agencies and the law. I've been advised that because of suppression orders, I can't share that with you today but I do undertake to go away and find a way that I can share it with you. I think it's in everyone's best interest that I am able to do so. But I just can't do it right now.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does suppression always apply to the deceased though?
ARDERN: Unfortunately, when that's issued by the court, it's the court's order.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK, so --
ARDERN: So I -- as I've said I completed a timeline for you that I wanted to share and I intend to share with you. I just unfortunately need to go through a process before I can.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Commissioner, just going back to -- why was someone who's on the terror watchlist allowed in the community?
COSTER: I'm confident that we have done absolutely everything we can within the bounds of the law and operationally to ensure that we could prevent what occurred with this individual, but it was not going to prevent him from being in the community and we were doing absolutely everything possibly to monitor him and indeed the fact that we were able to intervene so quickly in roughly 60 seconds shows just how closely we were watching him.
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: We were in a position to do so. You'll see at every point every attempt we've made to use the law to the greatest extent we could. The fact that he was in the community will be an illustration of the fact that we haven't succeeded in using the law to the extent we would have wanted. That is why he was being closely monitored at all times. And so that is -- given he was in the community but being closely monitored at all times he had the surveillance team monitoring him and a special tactics group that you can see was at the supermarket at the time he was --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does that mean that that mosque that's been cordoned off was also under police surveillance? And I think a lot of people will be concerned about the backlash against the Muslim community.
ARDERN: That would be wrong. That would absolutely wrong. The community here has been nothing but helpful and supportive. It would be wrong to direct any frustration at anyone beyond this individual. That is who is culpable. That is who is responsible. No one else.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The suppression orders.
ARDERN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What can you tell us about the motivations or the ideology?
ARDERN: Violent ideology and ISIS inspired.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And you're confident he was a lone wolf actor?
ARDERN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're not looking for anyone else in relation to this?
ARDERN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prime Minister, can you please go back to what you just said when you said we're not using the law as much as I would have liked during this case? What measures would you have liked to see put in place --
ARDERN: No, no, no. So we've utilized the law in the full extent we've been able to I think was the point that I was trying to make. And he was obviously in the community and as an additional protection, we had that surveillance team who was also monitoring him as well.
(CROSSTALK)
[01:29:53]
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So this man, was he an ISIS sympathizer?
ARDERN: He obviously was a supporter of ISIS ideology.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there any other people like this in the community? I mean what -- I mean people are (INAUDIBLE).
ARDERN: I didn't say that. This is -- this is an individual who was known to multiple agencies, a range of actions (ph) were undertaken around this particular individual. There are very few we're classifying this way.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said that officers were interested (INAUDIBLE) involved at the time against this action there. Is there anything inside?
ANDREW COSTER, NEW ZEALAND POLICE COMMISSIONER: They were able to (INAUDIBLE) in as much inside so they were very close by.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any issue with the footage that is being circulated at the moment, in relation to him? That were part of the team. Like are there any -- yes, compromised or anything like that?
COSTER: We would ask the media to be responsible as well as the public now so you protect the interview with our people, but I am not saying that they don't --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any other people injured, were they police officers?
COSTER: The people injured I believed to be shoppers.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any indication of how long it might take keep those (INAUDIBLE).
ARDERN: I would need to take a little bit of advise on it. I also want to check whether or not -- how (INAUDIBLE) extent. My view is, just for everyone -- we are looking at information that we have available to us. And all of our knowledge of this individual, and his history here given that we see that he's been known to us since 2016.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This been (INAUDIBLE) in the courts for the last year or so? Is that right?
ARDERN: If you will forgive me, if you would just give me the time to go through the process, I will give you a full history, rather than jumping --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you agree (INAUDIBLE) the proposed counterterrorism rule changes now?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could they have been assisted?
ARDERN: It's purely speculative to say whether or not any difference in our law or indeed any of the law changes we're doing now would've made a difference in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The royal commissioner implies that (INAUDIBLE) dealing with people who are concerned.
Ardern: And we have already been progressing it. That rule change is coming next from (INAUDIBLE) we do believe that's in the House. So that was underway.
It would be real speculative of us to make the assumption here of what happened today would be necessarily be prevented by a rule change that we had in (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: And all of the tools that we had, and a constant monitoring and surveillance is one of the outside of someone being in prison, is one of the strongest that we have. And that is what was attached to this individual.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prime minister, for our public on what you've talked about before. We need to be asking how many are out there, with these known (INAUDIBLE)?
ARDERN: Yes. We did give that assurance. Of course, you will know that, the general practice, of course, is not for us to get in today with detail.
I can tell you that they are not really who fall into this category. This was someone who is known to our national security agencies, and once our concern ended for what's being monitored constantly. There are very few who fall into this category. I can give you that assurance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prime minister --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- being taken regarding this attack?
ARDERN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that less than 10.
ARDERN: All theory, theory, theory. Of course, that is not to say that we are not vigilant. And I'm here (INAUDIBLE) we have seen through multiple circumstances now that we are not immune to these things.
But having said that, individuals like this are not widespread in New Zealand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the public have to know if there are several people --
ARDERN: If you will forgive me, it would not be appropriate for me to say if there is a number involved. And it's not easy on the national security (INAUDIBLE). There are very few people who are presumed to be in this category.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it right to say that he was on the terror watchlist since 2016? And did you find out about him recently from the SAS when you were briefed, when he was released from prison?
ARDERN: Again, I'm not going to give a timeline if some of (INAUDIBLE) because I want to make sure that I have got the clearest vision of what they were doing.
(INAUDIBLE) I can't give you the exact timeline. We have known about this individual for sometime, but obviously -- he has been wanted for sometime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long was he considered a threat?
[01:34:55]
ARDERN: As I have said, since 2016.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just -- I just -- I know I've asked it already, but why was he allowed into the community?
ARDERN: Because by law, we could not keep him in prison. So he was being monitored constantly, as a result of that.
If we can release that detail later on, we will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there going to be any changes to the terror alert level?
ARDERN: No. We are having a meeting.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any concerns about retaliation?
ARDERN: That is not something I can comment on, but if we find (INAUDIBLE) we will warn media.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said that he was a Sri Lankan national. Is he a New Zealand citizen?
ARDERN: I will be looking to see if I can provide you that information around his immigration status at the same time as we provide further information around the law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because if he was not a citizen, and he was on this watchlist, why wasn't a person like that have been deported?
ARDERN: I can tell you, the agency where you can get every single possible means available to them, to protect the New Zealand public from this individual, every single possible measure.
And if I am able to, I will share all of that information. But the legal side of what we are trying to do, there is also other parts of the rule that we are trying to provide.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are some of the markers? Why did he end up on this watchlist in the first place? What were some of the markers, what were some of the red flags that got him being watched in the first place?
ARDERN: His interest in extremist ideology. And so of course, the role if you (INAUDIBLE) see that as well. And I'll try and provide it right then there if we're --
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: And we will keep you --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to clarify for those that might have how can sufficient orders apply for the deceased?
COSTER: (INAUDIBLE) with a suppression order is my understanding?
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: Yes, because I know that we've been doing everything we could, everything that we could. So we are absolutely gutted (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This person has been monitored closely, as you say for 5 years. That must have -- the cost of doing it must have mounted into the millions. Do you know how much is it?
ARDERN: Again, we will see that there are different ways in which this individual has been was monitored. And we'll provide information as soon as we can -- provide you as soon --
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: -- that has been very close monitoring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just -- and based on the fact that this violent terror suspect was allowed in the community. As you're being prime minister and your judicial system --
ARDERN: Just keep in mind the reason he was in the community was because of our inability through the laws, we can't put him anywhere else. We have an indication of his past behavior and action, it did not unfortunately bring (INAUDIBLE) for us to be able to hold him in prison. So that is why monitoring was being used.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it your view that the justice system has let the country down? Or --
ARDERN: Well like I said, we used every element that we have in the law that is available. And working with other communities, the constant monitoring to the point that at the time that he visited the supermarket, he was being watched and followed.
But again, there will be a chance for us to look at every single lead that was used. And what, if anything more could have been done. As I say, what the point -- the police were here with him at the time that this happened. Their level of surveillance was being provided because of the concerns that we had.
(CROSSTALK)
I cannot --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you please outline the legislation under which he was being surveilled? Was it sections of (INAUDIBLE) -- in the 2002 counter-terrorism legislation? Were both of those --
COSTER: This was a side operation, and police were able to undertake surveillance of people who are suspected of or considered high risk of criminal activity. So, there was a range of permissions being used. Some of those, I can't talk about. But they were (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The orders wouldn't have covered him because they were for returning people. So the arresting orders, that wasn't-- he wouldn't be able to get (INAUDIBLE).
Just take it -- it was a terror-related legislation, as well as, for example search surveillance.
ARDERN: One thing I'll just say is that, of course, if we'd reached the threshold for him to be in prison, he would have been in prison.
As we reached -- if he committed a criminal act that would have allowed him to be in prison, that's where he would have been.
[01:39:48]
ARDERN: Unfortunately he didn't that is why, he was being monitored constantly, constantly. But unfortunately, otherwise, he has not committed and that didn't allowed us to have him in prison.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I just clarify --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- this surveillance. Is there anything else that could've been done to dissuade him of his beliefs? (INAUDIBLE) Can you detail that?
ARDERN: Of course, as we mentioned, (INAUDIBLE) in 2016. and there is not just a measure of having someone that's known and nothing happened. It was actually --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just for our viewers at home --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- you tried to counter that sort of violent extremism?
COSTER: At the time of apparent fullness of time, it is hard to describe individual aspects of this within this timeline. And those are the things we really need so (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After people who have been injured, are any of them staff at the mall, and was there any firearms injuries --
ARDERN: That is not information I have. I will have to --
COSTER: We do believe and bear in mind, that we are still gathering information. We believe the people who were injured were public health staff and the only firearms involved were those held by police officers who (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had this individual planned a terror attack, prior to this incident that we know about?
ARDERN: Again, these are pieces of information that we're going to share as soon as we can. Again, I will just reemphasize, had he done something that would've allowed us to put him into prison, he would have been prison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand that. But -- you can't answer that the moment?
ARDERN: Not at the moment. But we will put out again, the fact that he wasn't in prison, should in part help answer some of the questions that you're asking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police Commissioner, I have a couple of question, please.
So with the people that were injured in this attack, there was no specifics in the graphic for those people?
COSTER: We only have --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were they all ages? Were they I mean, all adults? It didn't involve any children?
COSTER: I am not aware that any children were involved, but that information will be, released as soon as we can. It is very important (INAUDIBLE) kind of said on this case, give us reason to believe there's any threat or risk to the public and resolve the situation.
We have dealt with that. We know from our monitoring that he was acting alone. And so that people did not need to feel concerned beyond they may be (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I just --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- if we find this individual leave for home, police were watching him from a distance --
COSTER: Yes, we have been actively watching his movements for sometime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many rounds were shot by police, Commissioner?
COSTER: I know that two officers were involved in shooting but I don't know how many shots were fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime Minister, do you this this lead to cause for Australian-style deportation rules on foreign actor?
ARDERN: (INAUDIBLE) in this particular case. But I can tell you that we were pursuing every option that we are able.
(CROSSTALK)
ARDERN: I think probably that's something we might be able to get into a little further -- a little further down the road.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are hearing about some of the actions of the public that were in the supermarket at the time. He was described grabbing nearby towels, and (INAUDIBLE) to try and help the wounded.
What is your message for those who went in to try and help?
ARDERN: I will tell everyone who was there and you know, who witnessed such a horrific abuse, I haven't mentioned how we are feeling in the aftermath. Thank you for coming to the aid of those who would needed it.
I think we wait for today. Ad we'll look to provide you at least any expectation of when we might have some action or (INAUDIBLE) that information. Unfortunately in the time available, we will simply advise that we couldn't say what we wanted to, and that I'll be looking for clearer information out soon as possible. Thank you.
(END OF LIVE EVENT)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: We have been listening to a news conference from Wellington, New Zealand where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed details of a lone wolf terror attack, by an ISIS sympathizer. Police shot and killed, the alleged terrorist at the shopping center in a residential neighborhood in Auckland.
The police commissioner, said the attacker had been under constant police surveillance for years.
Let's go to CNN's Angus Watson, live this hour for us in Sydney. So we found out that he got to that shopping center, he traveled there from (INAUDIBLE), which is somewhere in the south island. Once he reached that shopping center, he managed somehow to get a knife. And that is when this attack happened. But, it was all over, in about a minute.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, John. This attacker and been under surveillance, as you say. He's been known to several wings of the New Zealand authorities there. And Jacinda Ardern was even aware of this person.
[01:44:58]
WATSON: And so closely was he being monitored that police were able to respond to the attack and shoot him dead in around 60 seconds there we just heard from authorities.
So this man, a Sri Lankan national, who came to New Zealand years ago, and had been monitored for about five years as you say, a sympathizer, a supporter of ISIS and its ideologies there in Auckland, New Zealand at about 2:40 in the afternoon on a Friday afternoon, going into a supermarket store, finding a knife from within the premises of the store, attacking people, leaving six hospitalized. Three are in a critical condition, one of them is serious. Those six people are in three different hospitals across Auckland, John.
VAUSE: So just explain how he actually carried out these attacks. So once he reached that shopping center, on the outskirts of -- or the southern outskirts, if you like of Auckland.
He managed to obtain a knife, and that is when he went on a stabbing spree. Is that correct.
WATSON: That is right. Presumably that knife was on sale at the supermarket. He obtained that knife and went about attacking people at random.
Now he is supporter of ISIS, that reckless ideology that they have. He went in there, and took this opportunity to hurt people, John.
Now New Zealand authorities just there, Jacinda Ardern saying that he had been monitored and he had been previously in jail. He had been imprisoned there in New Zealand. But right now while authorities could monitor him, there weren't any legal avenues in which to detain him again or perhaps deport him from the country.
Jacinda Ardern apologized but said that the New Zealand authorities had done everything that they could to keep the New Zealand public safe from this man. Of course, he was in the end able to go into a shopping center and hurt people rather seriously, John.
VAUSE: Part of the things she talks about here as well, there were suppression orders which prevented the prime minister and the police commissioner from revealing a lot of details that they know about this attacker to the public.
But one thing which was interesting is that not only was he being under surveillance, kept under surveillance but there was a tactical police unit which was part of that surveillance.
WATSON: That's right. Clearly a tactical police unit that was able to identify that there was a problem and reacted very swiftly. They clearly knew, John, that this person was exceptionally dangerous and had it in him to go into this supermarket and attack people at random, John.
So police they're able to act quickly and neutralize the attacker to kill him without him being able to do more damage than unfortunately injure six people there, John.
VAUSE: Angus, thank you. Angus Watson there keeping us up to date with the very latest on the information coming to us from New Zealand. Angus in Sydney. Thank you for being with us.
We'll take a short break. You are watching CNN. We will be back in a moment.
[01:47:57]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. You're watching CNN.
We have the very latest now on that breaking news from New Zealand where the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has held a news conference revealing details of what she says was a lone wolf terror attack at a shopping center in a residential neighborhood of Auckland.
According to the prime minister the attacker, an ISIS sympathizer, had been under police surveillance for years. He had traveled from Dunedin earlier in the day on the south island to Auckland.
Once he reached that shopping center he somehow managed to get a hold of a knife. It was then he went on a stabbing spree. Six people were hurt, three are in a critical condition according to police.
And it's understood that the attacker was fatally shot dead by police within 60 seconds of the stabbing spree taking place. Many details could not be revealed by the prime minister. She said there were a number of suppression orders on the details of the Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011.
We will continue to follow that story. We'll bring you the updates on any developments that we have as we get them here on CNN.
Meantime, there is another developing story this hour. Just one year on the job and Japan's Prime Minister is calling it a day, it seems. Yoshihide Suga says he does not plan to run in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race later this month. His term as party leader set to expire at the end of September.
CNN's Blake Essig is in Tokyo following the story for us live. So that was just a short time in the top job. What's -- not staying? Do we know why?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know John, just one year, but a lot has happened in that one year between the Olympic games and COVID-19. These are two issues that really sunk the prime minister as far as support is concerned.
And now, Japan will soon have a new leader. Earlier today, in an extraordinary board meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters, Japan's prime minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would not be running for the LDP's leadership, effectively giving up his premiership. He addressed the media about an hour or two ago saying that he's going to be focusing on working on COVID-19 countermeasures and that focusing on election activities require a tremendous amount of energy and that he couldn't do both.
He went on to say that his mission as prime minister is to protect the life and livelihood of people. Ad that that is what he will be concentrating on moving forward. Suga left the briefing without answering any questions.
Now just in the past two months, COVID-19 casers in Tokyo and across Japan have really skyrocketed and as a result, public support for the prime minister has fallen dramatically in recent months.
Of course at one point, early on in his premiership, he had an approval rate near 70 percent. Today, it's constantly been below 30 percent. Again, the two biggest factors for Suga's decline in popularity has been his government's handling of COVID-19 which critics have called slow and indecisive.
And of, course there is the decision to hold the Olympics against the will of the people, and despite warnings from health officials that COVID cases could surge as a result.
Now, when he took office last year after the prime minister, former prime minister Shinzo Abe stepped down due to health concerns, Suga inherited an extremely challenging set of circumstances. Again, the COVID-19 pandemic and the delayed Olympic games.
But to regain support within the party recently, local media reports that Suga had been planning to reshuffle his cabinet and the LDP executive team by early next week. But it's believed he was struggling to appoint anybody for post as many members questioned his leadership capability.
And political experts are saying that Suga had found himself increasingly isolated in the lead up to the leadership race which is set to be held at the end of this month, John.
VAUSE: So I guess, is it a fair assumption to say that if he had any chance of actually winning that leadership race in September, later this month, rather, he would've actually stand -- he would have stood for that? And the reason why he didn't is because he had no chance of winning?
ESSIG: You know, John, a lot of these decisions, when it comes to the future prime minister made behind closed doors. And so the fact that he has stepped down leads you to believe that he recognized that he did not have a chance at winning the prime ministership or being reelected as his party leader at the end of the month which is why he stepped down and chose to came out and say that he is focusing on COVID-19 as a result of the election. Again, I think that clearly based on the last week, the reshuffling of the LDP party leadership and whatnot signaled that he had intentions to run and suddenly that changed today.
[01:54:58]
ESSIG: So clearly, things happened behind closed doors that led to this decision, which really did come as a surprise today.
VAUSE: Ok. Blake, thank you. Blake Essig there live for us in Tokyo with the very latest on the decision by Japan's prime minister not to run for the leadership again. Blake, thank you.
And just a quick update before we go on the very latest that we have from New Zealand where there has been a police -- a fatal police shooting at a shopping center in a suburb of Auckland, the largest city in the country.
Police responded to a call there around 2:40 in the afternoon, local time. That is when they shot dead this man who's believed to be a lone wolf, ISIS sympathizer. That's according to the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
He was shot dead but not before he managed to stab at least six people, three of them are said to be in a critical condition right now, recovering from those stab wounds.
Police say this man was a Sri Lankan national who arrived in the country back in 2011. He had been under police surveillance since 2016, five years.
There had been actually part of that surveillance a police tactical unit which was close by which is why the response from police was so fast.
But Jacinda Ardern facing a lot of questions as to how he was allowed to actually circulate among the community, how he was able to get a knife in the first place. And why it is that six people are now being treated for stab wounds. As I say, three of them in a critical condition in a hospital in Auckland.
Jacinda Ardern did not give away many details. In fact she said that could not because of court suppression orders about the individual involved.
She said she was working with the courts to have those suppression orders lifted and when they were, she would share those details in particular the timeline of this attacker, a man who apparently lived in Dunedin, which is a city on the south island.
And from there he traveled the state to Auckland, managed to obtained a knife at the shopping center, went on a stabbing spree but was shot dead within 60 seconds by the police.
So those are latest details we have from New Zealand.
We'll continue to follow that story, bring you more details as we get them.
In the meantime, I will say goodbye. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues though with Michael Holmes in just a moment.
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