Woman arrested after sword attack on Jacinda Ardern's electorate office in Auckland
October 27, 2022, 3:14 pm

Woman arrested after sword attack on Jacinda Ardern's electorate office in Auckland

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke at the first Harvard Yard Commencement since 2019 - Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

New Zealand Police on Thursday (Oct 27) said a 57-year-old woman was arrested at a property in Coatesville, about 30 km north-west of Auckland, after the office of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was attacked with a sword.

The police described the act as an "wilful damage".

Emergency crews were called to Ms Ardern's electorate office in the central suburb of Morningside about 8am on Thursday (Oct 27).

The front door of her office was smashed during the attack, with an implement resembling a samurai sword later found lying on the footpath nearby.

The office was left with a shattered window, while local media reported a smoke bomb was also thrown into the building.

A witness told Stuff they saw a person smash the front doors of the office.

He said the person then appeared to throw an object through a gap in the door, with smoke later seen billowing out of the door.

A person later emailed the publication claiming responsibility for the attack.

"The woman is currently assisting Police with our enquiries into the matter and we are not currently seeking anyone else," a police spokesperson said.

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“At 8.20 this morning I smashed a hole in her electoral office door and dropped the bomb in,” the email said.

No injuries were reported and the office was unoccupied at the time of the attack, police said.

Ms Ardern is currently visiting Antarctica, some 5,000km away, to mark the 65th anniversary of Scott Base, New Zealand’s only Antarctic research station, is not due to return to New Zealand until late Friday (Oct 28).

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
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