attack on two mosques in New zealand |
Three men and one woman were taken into custody, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said. He said police had defused a number of improvised explosive devices found on vehicles after the shootings.
A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings left a 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto in which he explained who he was and his reasoning for his actions.
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He said he considered it a terrorist attack. Ms Ardern at her news conference alluded to anti-immigrant sentiment as the possible motive, saying that while many people affected by the shootings may be migrants or refugees ‘they have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not’. Authorities have not yet said how many people were killed and wounded.
‘It’s a very serious and grave situation,’ Mr Bush said. Anybody who was thinking of going to a mosque anywhere in New Zealand on Friday should stay put, he added.
Emergency team treating the mosque shooting victims |
The deadliest shooting occurred at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch at about 1.45pm local time.
Witness Len Peneha said he saw a man dressed in black enter the mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror. Mr Peneha, who lives next door to the mosque, said the gunman ran out of the mosque, dropped what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon in his drive, and fled.
Mr Peneha said he then went into the mosque to try to help. ‘I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand how anyone could do this to these people, to anyone. It’s ridiculous.’
RIP to those that lost their lives
People outside mosque discussing the incident |
Aggrieved Muslim brothers at the scene |
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