Christchurch, New Zealand – A mass shooting incident at the
Masjid al Noor mosque, and the Linwood Masjid mosque in New Zealand left 49 dead, including children during Friday prayers (Jummah prayers). In addition to the deceased, numerous people were injured. At the second mosque in Linwood, an armed Muslim was able to stop the suspect from his killing spree by firing “a couple” of shots at them.
1/9 Police continue to deal with what is an unprecedented event for New Zealand. The loss of life and the number of those who have been injured is tragic.
As the Prime Minister has stated, this has been designated a terrorist attack.— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019
BREAKING: The New Zealand Herald reports that the shooting at the second mosque was stopped by an armed Muslim who “chased the shooters and fired two shots at them as they sped off.” pic.twitter.com/BA2FzsXq2d
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 15, 2019
Three people are in custody, one of them a 28 year old Australian-born citizen. The shooter began shooting at the door of the Masjid al Noor mosque and didn’t stop until he was done. He reloaded fresh magazines at least twice, and returned to his car and back again to start over. He was wearing a helmet with a camera mounted on it that allowed him to livestream the murders. Facebook took down the video and his account as soon as they were notified by NZ officials.
We have chosen not to put the video in this article or reveal the shooter’s name.
“There wasn’t even time to aim, there was so many targets” Mosque shooter
The suspect was said to have “right wing extremist views” according to authorities, but was not on any watch list. Officials called the massacre a terrorist attack. The suspect also left a 16,500 word “manifesto” called “The Great Replacement.” He stated that he chose the mosque for the attack in 2017.
The suspect was listening to music as he sat in his car. The BBC described the song as a “marching anthem for Serbian nationalist paramilitary units known as Chetniks during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. It praises Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who was convicted of genocide and war crimes. The names of men convicted of killing Muslims and migrants are written on the suspect’s weaponry.”
Police located two improvised explosive devices in one car according to Fox. Police disabled the devices. It’s unknown if it was the same car from the suspect’s video. They also evacuated some residents in an “area of interest” in Dunedin, about 240 miles south of Christchurch.
1/2 Police are currently in attendance at a property on
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019
Somerville Street, Dunedin. This is a location of interest in relation to the
serious firearms incident in Christchurch today.
Evacuations of properties in the immediate area have taken place
as a precaution.
Police asked all mosques to “shut their doors” until further notice.
5/6 Ambulance, Fire and Emergency NZ, and wider https://t.co/OwDOISklCS this stage we will not be discussing the offenders’ possible motivations or the causes of this incident. We have asked all mosques nationally to shut their doors, and advise that people refrain from visiting
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019
CHRISTCHURCH SHOOTING: New Zealand police urge public not to share “extremely distressing footage” possibly related to mosque shooting https://t.co/ZJs3Pnmhck pic.twitter.com/gWP8b3ubmh
— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) March 15, 2019
For Americans, we must remain focused. It’s a huge coincidence that two mass shootings in foreign countries occurred one day apart- a school shooting in Brazil and these in New Zealand. “Keep your wits about you.”