This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/mar/15/christchurch-shooting-injuries-reported-as-police-respond-to-critical-incident-live

The article has changed 43 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 17 Version 18
Christchurch shooting: 49 dead in terror attack at two mosques – live updates New Zealand shooting: 49 dead in terrorist attack at two mosques – live updates
(about 4 hours later)
Carl Pomare was driving past the Al Noor mosque with a colleague when he heard gunfire, writes Clea Skopeliti. Lecturer Dr Zurinawati Mohi was near the Malaysian-Korea border en route to Hatyai for work when she was alerted to the attack by a friend, she told the New Straits Times. Her husband, Mohd Nazri Hisham Omar, 46, has lived in Christchurch with three of their children, aged 17, 13 and 9, since January.
Speaking to the BBC News, he said: “To get confirmation, I immediately called my husband and three children but my calls went unanswered. Not long after that, one of my kids sent me a WhatsApp message telling me their father was injured,” she said.
“I saw lots of people running outside the mosque, in the same direction as me and they were running for their lives. I said to my colleague, something’s happening here. In the next second there was rapid fire and people were being knocked down like ten-pins. I saw them being hit from behind, I saw them falling to the ground. Zurinawati, 48, said her husband was badly injured in the attack, though she did not know what his condition was in hospital. “Our three children are safe but traumatised following what happened.”
“I stopped my vehicle about a hundred metres up the road and we decided we needed to go back and help these guys. We set up a cordon with another car who was luckily also a contractor. We managed to secure that end of the road and we turned and tried to help people. She intends to travel to New Zealand with their eldest son, 19, as soon as possible.
“My coworker assisted the first people he saw lying on the footpath – there were lots of bodies and there was no sirens, no police or ambulance because this had just happened. So for ten minutes there was no other outside assistance apart from the people that were just there – probably no more than six people, all civilians, just helping these people lying on the ground, fighting for their lives. The Malaysian High Commission in Wellington has so far confirmed only one Malaysian citizen among those injured, but the number is expected to rise given the number of nations resident in Christchurch. The foreign ministry of Malaysia condemned “in the strongest terms, this senseless act of terror on innocent civilians” and called for “those responsible for this barbaric crime be brought to justice”.
“It wasn’t until 15 minutes later the Armed Offenders came in, police couldn’t come in until the armed offenders had and the ambulance couldn’t until they’d secured the area. Malaysia condemns in the strongest term, the senseless act of terror on innocent civilians and hopes that those responsible for this barbaric crime be brought to justice. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families of today’s shooting incident in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/GKP4GJ2EQJ
“People were begging us take them to hospital but we couldn’t because the ambulances weren’t allowed in. In the end we made a call to get a father and a daughter who were both hurt – the daughter was critical – we got her into a car and managed to get them out pretty quickly, with the father. We don’t know if they survived. Another Malaysian national, Mohd Tarmizi Shuib, has been identified as injured in the attack. A former classmate told The New Straits Times that Shib, a flight simulator operator, had been at the Al Noor mosque with his wife and two of his four children for Friday night prayers.
“The gentleman, who my coworker was supporting, passed away in his arms. It was a scene of carnage – we were there for a good 15 or 20 minutes, just civilians, helping these people as much as we could until more support came in.” When the shooting began, the friend said, Mohd Tarmizi Shuib ran off with his son Hariz and was shot in the back. Hariz is safe, but 17-year-old Haziq is thought to still be unaccounted for. “For now, we can only pray that all will be fine and hope Haziq is found safe,” Shuib’s sister, Zarina Shuib, 53, told the Malay Mail from her home in Hutan Kampung.
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been struggling to keep video of the attack offline, with new versions being uploaded as quickly as they can be taken down, while many traditional media sites including MailOnline, the Sun, and the Mirror hosted edited videos of the same footage. Shuib had migrated to New Zealand about 18 months ago after his eldest daughter, 19, was offered a place to study at university there. He and his wife, an academic, had lived in the country once before for about three or four years, according to Zarina Shuib.
Facebook, where a man claiming to be the attacker livestreamed footage of the shootings, removed the original video about an hour later, but by that time copies of the footage had started to circulate across other social media sites. So far none of the dead have been formally identified, but relatives of the injured have been speaking to local press in Malaysia and Indonesia, both predominantly Muslim countries.
Facebook’s community standards explicitly ban “individuals engaged in mass murder” from having a presence on its network, and the company has deleted the account associated with the suspect. But eight hours after the attack videos were still live, obscured behind a warning that they may “show violent or graphic content” but not deleted. The Malay Mail has named one of the injured Malaysian nationals as Rahimi Ahmad, in a critical condition on Friday after being shot in the abdomen and spine at the Masjid Al Noor. He was due to undergo more surgery to remove bullets on Saturday.
Traditional news outlets have taken starkly different positions. MailOnline’s version of the story features an autoplaying clip of 18 seconds of the suspect’s livestream, showing him leaving his car, weapon in hand, cutting it as he enters the front door of Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue. There was a version of the clip autoplaying on its homepage. Ahmad, a technician, moved to New Zealand from Penang four years ago to support his wife, Norazila Wahid, in her studies there. The couple have two children, aged nine and 11. The eldest boy, Ahmad Razif, was also at the mosque compound at the time of the attack but was not thought to be injured, reported the New Straits Times.
The Sun took a similar approach. A spokesman for the paper told the Guardian: “We recognise that in the aftermath of horrific events such as these there will be sensitivities around reporting, and we take those responsibilities seriously. “When I heard about the mass shooting, I tried calling my daughter-in-law but I could not contact her,” Ahmad’s mother, Rokiah Mohammad, told the Malay Mail. “I was so worried because he goes to a mosque near his house which looked like the mosque in the news.” Arrangements were being made for her to fly to New Zealand to join the family, along with Ahmad’s elder brother.
Video of Christchurch attack runs on social media and news sites The rest of the world is continuing to respond to the horrific attack in Christchurch.
Friday noon prayers are a highlight of the week for Muslim communities, a time when worshippers pack into tight rows inside mosques. At Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, it was “calm and quiet” before the imam’s sermon on Friday. “You could hear a pin drop,” said one worshipper. Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl’s letter to Trevor Mallard, New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, was just shared by the Irish Houses of Parliament on Twitter.
The peace was shattered by gunfire that left dozens of people dead. Three miles away at the Linwood Islamic Centre, there was another scene of horror. Within hours, police had ordered mosques across New Zealand to lock their doors, and community leaders appealed for calm. A letter of condolence from Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD to the Right Honourable Mr Trevor Mallard MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, New Zealand on the tragic events in Christchurch earlier today. pic.twitter.com/CpqHt9VuRj
Mustafa Farouk, the president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (Fianz), said the organisation was “seeking the prayers and support of all New Zealanders for the victims of this senseless attack. We ask our Muslim brothers and sisters to remain calm and display common sense. We are resolved to maintain cohesion and peace among all New Zealanders.” In it Fearghaíl writes that the Irish Parliament “stands shoulder to shoulder with our New Zealand friends at this time of dreadful violence and blind hatred”, and comments on the similarities between the two countries:
New Zealand’s most recent census, in 2013, found 1.1% of the population of 4.25 million was Muslim. Almost half of the population identified with a Christian religion, and a growing proportion – more than 40% – said they had no religion. While many thousands of miles geographically separate our two small proud nations, the strong bonds of friendship between New Zealand and Ireland are long established and enduring, regularly rejuvenated by fresh waves of Irish and New Zealand citizens ...
New Zealand Muslim leaders call for calm after mosque attacks The fact that these attacks were on the sincere and quiet expression of religious faith makes them all the more repugnant. These dark forces of violence seek to promote fear and division and to champion terror within tolerant, inclusive and welcoming societies such as New Zealand’s. These dark forces must be challenged at every turn.
New Zealand in shock after mosque attacks – in pictures Elle Hunt here, taking over the liveblog from Matthew Weaver. The Dominion Post – Wellington’s daily broadsheet, the second largest newspaper in New Zealand – has just posted online the front page of its Weekend edition. Like the New Zealand Herald, it has referenced PM Jacinda Ardern’s reference to the nation’s “darkest days”.
Pope Francis denounced the “senseless acts of violence” in the attack, AP reports. The front page of the @DomPost Weekend edition pic.twitter.com/riyaPSN2wF
In a telegram of condolences, Francis offered his solidarity and prayers to the injured and those who are mourning lost loved ones, and noted that it was a particularly difficult time for security and emergency personnel. The Nelson Mail, a smaller publication in the South Island city of Nelson, has used a similar shot.
He said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and loss of life cause by the senseless acts of violence at two mosques in Christchurch, and he assures all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity in the wake of these attacks.” The weekend @NelsonMail pic.twitter.com/zNeRCWi6Rf
The message sent by the Vatican secretary of state ended by saying: “Commending those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of comfort and strength upon the nation.” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also addressed worshippers at the Finsbury Park mosque in his north London constituency.
Donald Trump has added this message of sympathy to the people of New Zealand. Speaking after Friday prayers he said:
My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all! “The message I’ve given them is that we’re absolutely shocked and appalled at the killings that have happened in New Zealand and the crazed gunman who has taken the lives of so many innocent people.
Users of the far-right message board, where the main suspect in the shooting announced his attack, have a long history of courting extremism. “What I just said to Friday Prayers is: an attack on a mosque, an attack on synagogue, an attack on a church, an attack on a temple is an attack on all of us.
Founded in 2013, 8Chan was created as a splinter of the better-known 4Chan image board, after the latter began cracking down on posts supporting the antifeminist “Gamergate” movement. So, those people who’ve died in New Zealand, that’s an attack on all of us. The only answer is one of respect for each other, support for each other, and solidarity.”
In the years since, the site, described by its founder as a “free-speech-friendly” 4Chan alternative, has become notorious for not only hosting one of the most active white supremacist communities on the internet, but also for legal battles over users who post child pornography on the site, and links to illegal content elsewhere. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the new Democrat congresswoman, has attacked Donald Trump for cutting funding for initiatives designed to tackle white supremacist hate groups.
In 2018, 8Chan became the main home of the QAnon conspiracy group, which believes that the “deep state” is conspiring to prevent Donald Trump from achieving his goals as president. All of these are terrorist incidents.We have a responsibility to understand how white supremacy + online radicalization works, because it is impacting our entire society.President Trump defunded Federal programs designed to fight the spread of white supremacist hate groups. https://t.co/7WgC65f5Fp
The politics subforum of 8chan, known as /pol/, is the home of the site’s white supremacist community. It is there that the attacker posted news of his intention to go on a shooting spree, writing “it’s time to stop shitposting and time to make a real life effort post”. An Australian senator has been strongly criticised after he blamed the New Zealand shooting on Muslim immigration.
The announcement was received with glee from users on the site, who wished the terrorist “best of luck” and said they “can’t wait to see the news reports”. Some did express concern that the news would result in 8Chan getting shut down, although one noted that a ban “would force us to start working IRL”. In the wake of the attack, Fraser Anning tweeted: “Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?”
Farid Ahmed a senior member of Al Noor mosque in Christchurch explained how the attack unfolded, writes Clea Skopeliti In a statement shared by an Australian journalist on Twitter, the Queenslandsenator also wrote: “As always, leftwing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views, but this is all cliched nonsense.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”
“I was inside the mosque, in the side room and the Imam had started the sermon so everyone was settled, it was very peaceful calm and quiet as usual. The remarks were denounced by the UK home secretary, Sajid Javid, who accused the senator of stoking extremism.
“Then suddenly the shooting started. It started in the main room, so I did not see who was shooting but I saw that people were running out through the room that I was in and I saw that some people had blood on their bodies and were limping. Anger as Australian senator blames New Zealand attack on Muslim immigration
“At that moment I realised that it was really serious - a couple of people said to me, you’re in a wheelchair, you’ve got to get out now and I pushed myself to the back where my car was parked and I was behind the car. Toby Manhire, a New Zealand journalist and a former Guardian staffer, tweets images and videos of children demonstrating in the climate strike to show what New Zealand is really like.
“From there, I was hearing the shooting, the shooting, the shooting. It went on about six minutes or more. This is New Zealand https://t.co/FaUbKnAcDy
“I could hear screaming and crying. I saw some people drop dead, some running away. I couldn’t because I was in the wheelchair, and also I didn’t want to - I was afraid of what was going to happen to the ladies, what was going to happen to my wife.” London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been speaking outside the East London Mosque.
Downing Street has urged social media companies to act quickly to remove the video purporting to show a livestream of the attack. Flanked by the Bishop of London and imams, Khan said:
On social media companies posting live-stream video of Christchurch massacre, Downing Street spokeswoman says: “there should be no safe spaces for terrorists to share their extreme views.... all [media] companies need to act quickly to remove terrorist content.” “We stand here together today in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in New Zealand. Our diversity is a strength. We maybe more than 11,000 miles away from Christchurch but we feel the ripples of hatred. We feel the ripples of fear and we feel the ripples of sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Christchurch.
New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark has called for tougher gun laws. “This was a terrorist attack on innocent men, women and children. Deliberately targeted because of the faith they belonged to. The place they were worshipping in was deliberated targeted.
Speaking to ABC new she said: “There is a responsibility on all of us to be very careful in the language we use and the messages we amplify. There are some people in our country who fan the flames of hatred. There are some people who demonise and dehumanise people because of the faith they follow. You have a role to play in radicalising people to become terrorists. That’s why it is really important that we demonstrate from London that as far as we are concerned, our diversity is a strength not a weakness. We don’t simply tolerate it we celebrate it, we embrace it and we respect it.
We do have gun control. People have to be fit and proper persons to have guns, but undoubtedly the law can be strengthened and improved. Personally, I would be surprised if the New Zealand Parliament didn’t accept that challenge head on to strengthen the law. I think we could do better and a tragedy like this brings that forward as a priority. “There will be Muslims in London who will be feeling vulnerable, scared and frightened because they are Muslims. I want to reassure all Muslims and everyone going to a place of worship today and over the course of the next few days, you will be seeing an increased policing around mosques, to reassure you that here in London you are free to be who you want, and worship who you want. It is really important that we as a city don’t allow this terrorist to cower us to change the way we lead our lives.
She also praised her successor’s statement. “We want to be a beacon to the rest of the world to show that whether you are a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, whether you are a member of an organised faith, or not, here in London you are welcome. London is open.”
I think Jacinda Ardern has struck exactly the right note. Firstly, it is a note of deep empathy, with families and a community which is in grief and shock. But she has also pointed to the police response. Knowing Jacinda Ardern, she will want to leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this. And to know what New Zealand needs to do better to stop it ever happening again. "We feel the ripples of hatred, we feel the ripples of fear and we feel the ripples of sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Christchurch" Mayor Sadiq Khan announces extra security at London mosques as he condemns New Zealand attacksLatest updates: https://t.co/2M0XpftuqJ pic.twitter.com/GcXsPI0FXY
Here’s a detailed guide to the attack on the Al Noor mosque.
And the Lindwood Islamic Centre.
A group of activists calling themselves Turn to Love gathered outside the High Commission of New Zealand in London to promote the idea that “love will win and terror will lose”, PA reports.
They assembled with placards and posters, holding up signs which read “They will not divide us” and “Turn to love for New Zealand”. There was a minute’s silence for the victims.
The group also briefly spoke to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He told them:
“We will not allow these people to divide us, we will stand in solidarity with all those who suffered egregiously in New Zealand.
“We stand together for a world where we respect each other, where we recognise the strength that comes from our diversity.
“And recognise an attack on any one community or any one place of worship, whatever the faith, is actually an attack on all of us.”
Mustafa Field, director of Faith Forums for London, said: “Jeremy sent a really powerful message of solidarity with the Muslim community that the perpetrators will not divide us. We will stand firmly together as Brits with the rest of world.”