Harrowing first-person footage, apparently from a camera worn by a gunman as he attacked the Al Noor Mosque in the center of the city, was streamed on Facebook - a grim milestone in the evolution of terrorism that raised questions about how tech companies can block extremists from using social media to spread hate and inspire violence.įacebook said it quickly shut down the account, but a 17-minute video showing a man dressed in black shooting at fleeing worshipers and into piles of bodies with a semiautomatic rifle circulated widely online. The massacre, which Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, condemned as a terrorist attack and called “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” interrupted a day of prayer for a small immigrant community in the nation’s third-largest city and shook a country with little history of mass shooting. At this tragic time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders.WELLINGTON, New Zealand - At least 49 people were killed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a horrific and methodical afternoon slaughter, part of which was broadcast live on the internet after the publication of a white supremacist manifesto online. “I also pay tribute to the emergency services and volunteers who are providing support to those who have been injured. Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives,” she said in a statement. “I have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch today. The country has not experienced a mass shooting event since 1990, when 13 people were killed in the seaside town of Aramoana.Ĭondolences and expression of solidarity have poured in from around the world, including a personal message from the Queen, New Zealand’s ceremonial head of state. Worshippers have been told to stay away from mosques until further notice and Christchurch residents have been encouraged to stay indoors.Īddressing a press conference, Prime Minister Ardern described the attack as “one of New Zealand's darkest days”.
Two other suspects remain in custody, while the fourth person arrested has since been cleared of involvement.īush said that two improvised explosive devices attached to the shooter’s vehicle have been disabled, and warned that other attackers could still be at large. Police commissioner Mike Bush said that a 28-year-old man is due to appear in court tomorrow charged with murder.
Minutes before the massacre, a Twitter user of the same name posted “an 87-page manifesto that was filled with anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim ideas and explanations for an attack”, CNN reports.Īlthough New Zealand is one of the world’s most peaceful countries, Christchurch “is known to have an active white-supremacist subculture”, says The Guardian. The shooter is said to have identified himself as Brenton Tarrant, an Australian national. “We have had 12 operating theatres that have been operating since this afternoon and will be continuing through until about midnight,” he said. In all, 41 people died at Al Noor, and another seven at Linwood, while one victim has since died in hospital.Ĭanterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates told the New Zealand Herald that surgeons expected to work into the night treating 48 victims with gunshot wounds ranging from minor to critical. Police arrested the gunman inside a car that was later found to contain several weapons and two improvised explosive devices. Farhaan Farheez, who survived the attack, told The Sydney Morning Herald: “The whole mosque was filled with blood and dead bodies.