New Zealand government has passed a new law criminalising plotting a terrorist attack after an Islamic State-inspired attacker injured six people in a supermarket earlier this month.

The accused who carried out the attack in Auckland’s supermarket was on the police terror watchlist. 32-year-old Sri Lankan national Samsudeen was shot by police after he went on the rampage. The incident shocked the country even as it comes to term with the horrifying Christchurch mosque shootings two years ago when a lone gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers and injured 40 others in a daylight terror strike.

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The country’s justice minister said “nature of terrorism” had changed, adding that there would be more “lone actors, rather than larger organised groups”.

Prime minister Ardern had earlier indicated that her government was trying to plug the loophole in the law after the Auckland attacker was set free as the judge ruled that planning a terror attack was not a crime under existing law.

“The fact that he was in the community will be an illustration that we haven’t succeeded in using the law to the extent we would have liked,” Arden had said after the Auckland attack while admitting that she was “gutted” over the incident.

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Ardern had expressed her frustation at Samsudeen being allowed to be set free. He had arrived in the country in 2011 on a student visa and was granted refugee status in 2013.

New Zealand prime minister had informed that Samsudeen’s deportation was pending however he could not be sent away since criminal trial was still underway although he posed a risk to people. The authrorities had failed to charge Samsudeen under the Terrorism Suppression Act and police could no longer keep him under detention.  

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster later admitted it was not possible to be next to an attacker “at all times” even though the person might be on surveillice 24×7. 

Samsudeen was earlier imprisoned for nearly three years before being released in July. The New Zealand government has now made plotting and preparing a terror attack a crime.

(With inputs from Agencies)