New Zealand to criminalise attack planning after mall stabbing

Police respond to the scene of an attack carried out by a man shot dead by police after he injured multiple people at a shopping mall in Auckland, New Zealand, September 3, 2021. Stuff Limited/Ricky Wilson via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counter-terrorism laws this month after a knife-wielding militant known to the authorities stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket.

Police shot dead the 32-year-old attacker, a Sri Lankan national who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.