New Zealand attacker radicalized by neighbors, mother says

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The mother of an Islamic State-inspired extremist who stabbed shoppers in a New Zealand supermarket said her son was radicalized by neighbors from Syria and Iraq. She said they had “brainwashed” her son while helping him recover from an injury. She spoke Saturday in an interview from Sri Lanka. The 32-year-old attacker originally hailed from Sri Lanka, and arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago on a student visa. He later applied for refugee status. He was shot and killed by police, who said five people were stabbed and two injured in Friday’s attack.