Psychiatrist tells inquest of stalking behaviours by supermarket attacker Ahamed Samsudeen
A forensic psychiatrist testified at an inquest that Ahamed Samsudeen, who committed a 2021 supermarket terror attack, exhibited severe stalking behaviors and erotomanic delusions. The expert suggested that legal restrictions placed on his contact with a lawyer may have triggered his violent outburst.
Why it matters
The case provides insight into the intersection of mental health, radicalization, and the challenges of managing high-risk offenders in the community.
Ahamed Samsudeen injured six people during a frenzied knife attack at a Countdown before he was shot dead. Photos / Getty Images, NZME
A psychiatrist believes orders stopping Ahamed Samsudeen from stalking his female lawyer and a police officer may have been the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in his committing a supermarket terror attack.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Goodwin told the coroner’s inquest into Samsudeen’s death about the terrorist’s alarming stalking and harassment behaviours before he attacked supermarket shoppers in 2021.
The Sri Lankan-born refugee stabbed five shoppers and injured a sixth before he was shot dead by undercover police in a West Auckland supermarket.
He had been released from prison and was on a community-based sentence two months before the September 2021 attack.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in