Incident Summary:

06/09/2020: Assailants set fire to a cell phone tower along Idlewild Avenue in Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand. There were no reported casualties in the attack. This was one of three similar arson incidents targeting towers in Auckland overnight. No group claimed responsibility; however, authorities suspected that the incident may have been motivated by a conspiracy theory suggesting an unsubstantiated link between 5G radio waves and the COVID-19 pandemic.

GTD ID:
202006090001

When:
2020-06-09

Country:
New Zealand

Region:
Australasia & Oceania

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Auckland

City:
Mangere

Location Details:
The incident occurred along Idlewild Avenue.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Facility/Infrastructure Attack
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Telecommunication
Name of Entity Spark New Zealand Limited
Specific Description Cell Phone Tower
Nationality of Target New Zealand
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Incendiary Gasoline or Alcohol
Weapon Details
Petrol was used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Conspiracy theory extremists No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"CELL PHONE TOWERS ATTACKED," Papakura Courier, June 10, 2020.