New Zealand mosque attack: One person arrested following ‘multiple fatalities’ in Christchurch mass shooting
“Multiple” people have been killed in a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, police have said as they warned that more than one attacker may have been involved.
Police declared a “critical incident” after the initial attack at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Deans Avenue – where up to 500 people are thought to have been worshipping – and warned residents an “active shooter” was in the area.
The other shooting took place in Linwood Avenue. Police urged mosques across the country to close their doors and worshippers to stay away.
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush said there had been “multiple fatalities” in the attack, and that one person had later been arrested.
Officers added on Twitter: “Police [are] responding to a very serious and tragic incident involving an active shooter in central Christchurch. One person is in custody, however police believe there may be other offenders. This is an evolving incident.”
Follow the latest updates live here
Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, called the attack “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.
Radio New Zealand (RNZ), the public broadcaster, cited a witness as saying he had seen four people on the ground and “blood everywhere” at the first mosque.
Others witnesses told the New Zealand Herald they had heard more than two dozen gunshots.
Members of the Bangladesh cricket team were reportedly caught up in the Deans Avenue incident but not harmed.
Mr Bush said in a statement: “Police are responding [at] full capability to manage the situation, but the risk environment remains extremely high.
“Police recommend that residents across Christchurch remain off the streets and indoors until further notice. Christchurch schools will be locked down until further notice.”
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AFP/Getty
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AP
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AFP/Getty
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31/50 12 February 2019
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AFP/Getty
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35/50 8 February 2019
Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich (C-L) submits the election registration form to an officer at the Election Commission in Bangkok, Thailand. A political party linked with Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Raksa Chart Party nominated Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, elder sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as prime minister candidate for the upcoming general election. Thailand is set to hold a general election on 24 March 2019, the first poll in five years since the May 2014 military coup.
EPA
36/50 7 February 2019
Technicians set up material and work on the western section of the remains of the Morandi bridge in Genoa on the eve of the official start of the demolition work
AFP/Getty
37/50 6 February 2019
Rescue workers and people try to remove debris of an eight-story building which collapsed in Istanbul which killed at least one person and trapped several others inside the rubble, Turkish media reports said
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38/50 5 February 2019
For many President Trump’s State of the Union address was overshadowed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s applause after his call for political unity, which many interpreted as “sarcastic”
AFP/Getty
39/50 4 February 2019
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AP
40/50 3 February 2019
Tom Brady celebrates after New England Patriots won Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
USA TODAY Sports
41/50 2 February 2019
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido waves to supporters during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas, Venezuela
Reuters
42/50 1 February 2019
Palestinians perform Friday prayers as smoke rises from burning tires during a protest against Jewish settlements, in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
AFP/Getty
43/50 31 January 2019
Ice covers the Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago, US. Businesses and schools have closed, Amtrak has suspended service into the city, more than a thousand flights have been cancelled and mail delivery has been suspended as the city copes with record-setting low temperatures
Getty
44/50 30 January 2019
Man moves luggage in snow during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York
Reuters
45/50 29 January 2019
Firemen try to extinguish burning cars at the scene where a car bomb exploded in front of a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia
Reuters
46/50 28 January 2019
A tornado and pounding rains smashed into the eastern part of Cuba’s capital overnight, toppling trees, bending power poles and flinging shards of metal roofing through the air as the storm cut a path of destruction across eastern Havana
AP
47/50 27 January 2019
Policemen and soldiers keep watch as body bags (in white), containing the remains of blast victims, as seen in a cordoned area outside a church in Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao. At least 18 people were killed when two bombs hit a church on a southern Philippine island that is a stronghold of Islamist militants, days after voters backed the creation of a new Muslim autonomous region
AFP/Getty
48/50 26 January 2019
Aerial view showing firemen looking for people in heavy machinery (L and R) and a locomotive (C) after the collapse of a dam which belonged to Brazil’s giant mining company Vale, near the town of Brumadinho in southeastern Brazil
AFP/Getty
49/50 25 January 2019
Indian police personnel block unemployed Indian teachers, as they march towards the residence of Punjab Education Minister Om Parkash Soni during a protest against the Punjab state government to demand jobs in Amritsar
AFP/Getty
50/50 24 January 2019
Supporters of newly elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi cheer as they arrive to attend his Presidential Inauguration in Kinshasa. Tshisekedi took the oath of office before receiving the national flag and a copy of the constitution from outgoing president Joseph Kabila, stepping aside after 18 years at the helm of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest country, marking the country’s first-ever peaceful handover of power after chaotic and bitterly-disputed elections
AFP/Getty
RNZ cited Mustafa Farouk, the head of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, as saying between 300 and 500 worshippers were likely inside the mosque at the time of the attack. He said he had been told at least six people were wounded.
“Horrified to hear of Christchurch mosque shootings. There is never a justification for that sort of hatred,” said Amy Adams, a member of parliament from the city.
As well as locking down schools, police have reportedly cleared Cathedral Square, where children were staging a climate change protest.
The deadliest shooting occurred at the 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.”
He said he helped about five people recover in his home. He said one was slightly injured. “I’ve lived next door to this mosque for about five years and the people are great, they’re very friendly,” he said. “I just don’t understand it.”
He said the gunman was white and was wearing a helmet with some kind of device on top, giving him a military-type appearance.
Police said there was a second shooting at the Linwood Masjid Mosque.
Mark Nichols told the New Zealand Herald he heard about five gunshots and that a Friday prayer-goer returned fire with a rifle or shotgun.
Mr Nichols said he saw two injured people being carried out on stretchers past his automotive shop and that both people appeared to be alive.
A man who claimed responsibility for the shooting left a 74-page manifesto online, in which he said he was a 28-year-old white Australian who came to New Zealand only to plan and train for the attack.
He said he was not a member of any organisation, but had donated to and interacted with many nationalist groups, though he acted alone and no group ordered the attack.
He said the mosques in Christchurch and Linwood would be the targets, as would a third mosque in the town of Ashburton if he could make it there.
He said he chose New Zealand because of its location, to show that even the most remote parts of the world were not free of “mass immigration”.