The chair of the Glen Eden mosque that housed the LynnMall terror attacker has criticised how authorities and Muslim organisations handled the man's release from prison.
He spoke publicly for the first time as part of a coroner's hearing being held in Auckland this week, where he shared how he believed better handling of the situation may have prevented the attack and Ahamed Samsudeen's death.
Two years on he grapples with whether he'd have been able to do more to prevent the Countdown attack, if only he'd been made aware of the risk the 32-year-old posed.
"It is still fresh in my mind and closure is nowhere near, so I want to take a chance to talk about how this has affected me and the role in all of this."
Coroner Marcus Elliott's taking submissions as he considers the form and scope of the inquiry that led up to the Sri Lankan refugee's death on September 3, 2021 - just weeks after he'd been released from prison.
Police fatally shot the 32-year-old after he attacked several shoppers at the Auckland Countdown with a knife.
'If I had known'
The mosque chair, who has name suppression, gave a lengthy submission where he accused authorities of lying and failing to make clear the risk Samsudeen posed when he agreed to house him.
"I was told I will be nothing other than a landlord, just 'we need a premise for this chap to reintegrate'.
"I took this man in without knowing he had the ability to cause such a great deal of damage. I took him to job sites, my home, other homes, he resided at a mosque."
Ahamed Samsudeen stabbed six people, seriously injuring five in Countdown New Lynn in September 2021. (Source: 1News)
To this day, he grapples with wondering if he could have stopped this, if only he'd known the true risk.
"The relationship I had with the deceased, I don't believe anyone else would have come close to that, I was not just delivering on the commitment I made to the authorities, but was going overboard with helping Mr Samsudeen reintegrate into the community."
Why was the approach different here?
The mosque chair also drew comparisons to the March 15 2019 terror attack that saw 51 people killed in Christchurch.
He queries why Samsudeen was killed when a heavily armed man was not.
"The March 15, Christchurch executor, I call him an executor, was caught in the act, heavily decorated with weapons and he lives, why was he not killed on sight? Why was the approach different here?" he asked.
"I consider these are all questions that need to be examined."
Lost opportunities
The mosque chair also raised concerns as to how Samsudeen was managed in prison, saying the 32-year-old may have been in a revenge and rage mode after his extensive prison time.
"Being locked up in a small cell, with zero contact with the outside world. Hope and faith will help you survive for a certain time, but what about when the patience bottoms out? I believe he was in revenge mode, state of rage."
He said it was his belief that if more had been done to de-radicalise Samsudeen while still in prison the attack could have been avoided.
Lack of support
These comments came as he also described what he also felt was a failure of Muslim organisations to adequately support him in his work and after Samsudeen's death and the subsequent media coverage.
The fact his mosque was identified as the place where Samsudeen stayed is something the he says has had a lasting impact on him, as it's affected his job and his relationships.
"Not a single religious organisation reached out to see how I was coping, he said.
"Undercover police vehicle outside my house regularly, spending hours giving statements journalists constantly at me for comments.
"What did I do to deserve this?" he said.
"Help the system to help a fellow Muslim is all I did, and for no personal or monetary gain."
Police actions during LynnMall attack already scrutinised – lawyer
NZ Police believe key questions around why officers weren't in the supermarket at the time of the LynnMall terror attack, and their tactical response, have been addressed and there's nothing to gain from another inquiry.
March 12, 2024
2:18
As he closed his submission he expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, and invited them to come and meet the community at his mosque during the month of Ramadan.
"It's open to everybody, everybody is welcome."
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