Two civilians, who'd earlier been awarded bravery medals for their courageous acts during the LynnMall terror attack in 2021, have given emotional testimonies at the inquest of Ahamed Samsudeen - with one of them sharing that they told Samsudeen on the day of the attack, "Your God does not condone this".
Samsudeen stabbed five people, and injured two others at a Countdown supermarket in Auckland's New Lynn, before he was shot and killed by police.
Michael Andrews held back tears as he recounted the events of 3 September 2021, particularly when he spoke of seeing the injured survivors.
Andrews said he heard Samsudeen say to himself "Allahu Akbar" three or four times as he crouched over a victim.
Andrews said he told Samsudeen his actions were wrong.
"I firmly stated 'Your God does not condone this', before I yelled at him," he said.
Michael Andrews, who was awarded a New Zealand Bravery Medal for his actions following the mass stabbing, giving witness testimony on Friday. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Andrews said he was within 1.5 metres of Samsudeen, who subsequently came toward him with the knife.
"He swung his knife aggressively towards me and with much more energy than when he had been stabbing and cutting [survivor] on the ground.
"He went from zero to a hundred quickly and moved towards me to attack me," Andrews recalled.
Andrews said he ran away and grabbed a metal pole for protection.
He said he held the pole toward Samsudeen as the attacker continued to swing the knife toward him.
Andrews said another shopper yelled at Samsudeen, eventually distracting him away.
Andrews was emotional as he spoke of seeing an injured survivor on the ground.
He said he'd asked another shopper to hold the hand of the survivor to keep her conscious, as he went to apply pressure to the wounds of another survivor.
Off-duty paramedic Ross Tomlinson was another civilian who attempted to distract Samsudeen and stop him from attacking others.
Tomlinson said he witnessed Samsudeen stabbing a person and told him to drop his weapon.
He told the inquest he was then approached by Samsudeen.
"I told Mr Samsudeen several times to drop the knife. He didn't respond and kept coming towards me.
"He didn't run but was pacing towards me. His breathing was heavy with a deranged look on his face.
"It was neither happy nor angry, but deranged or manic."
Ross Tomlinson during his evidence into the inquest of Ahamed Samsudeen. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Tomlinson said Samsudeen was slashing his knife in the air and was saying with a raised voice, "Allahu Akbar".
He said several other civilians were also trying to distract Samsudeen and asked him to put down the knife, before the two plain-clothed police officers arrived.
Tomlinson said both officers had ordered Samsudeen to put down his knife before they shot him.
"The commands from them were really, really clear. People from behind scattered when they were told to get out of the way.
"There is in no world where he didn't hear that command very clearly, repeated and was given every opportunity to drop that weapon. He didn't do so.
"As a matter of fact, they (the police) acted in my best interests to save my life. [It's] worth stating that those commands were very, very clear and he was afforded every opportunity to stop this violence," he said.
Under questioning by a lawyer Anna Adams assisting the Coroner, Tomlinson said the two officers were the first to attend to Samsudeen after they shot him.
He said he also unpacked some nappies from the shelves for helping with Samsudeen's wounds - however based on more than 10 years of experience as a paramedic, he felt Samsudeen couldn't have been saved.
Tomlinson said he observed signs of "agonal breathing" from Samsudeen, which he said happens with people who are having a cardiac arrest or some form of internal haemorrhaging.
He said Samsudeen's breathing quickly stopped and he believed that there was not much one could do to save him, and even life support may not have worked.
Earlier when Coroner Marcus Elliott opened the inquest, he said it would not be revisiting the conclusion of the Independent Police Conduct Authority finding that two officers were legally justified in shooting Samsudeen, and that the surveillance officer who decided not to follow Samsudeen into the supermarket initially, had acted reasonably.
However, he said that does not mean there was nothing to learn from the attack, and the inquest would discuss recommendations.
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