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A "right-wing extremist" armed with semi-automatic weapons has collapsed in two mosques in the peaceful town of Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday afternoon prayers, killing 49 faithful and hurting dozens of others.
The attack, considered the deadliest against modern-day Western Muslims, has been described as "terrorism" by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was guiding a country into shock in one of its "days". darker ".
Among the dead, there would be women and children. Nearly 48 people were treated for gunshot wounds at the Christchurch hospital, including young children, with injuries ranging from serious to minor.
- Anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment is probably the reason for the attack
- 3 people in custody; several explosives found and defused
- Video of shots that have been recorded by an attacker and shared on social networks
- A man accused of murder is identified as Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28 years old.
- 4 injured Pakistanis, 5 others "disappeared" after the attack
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said that four Pakistanis were injured in the attack and that five others are still "missing." Efforts are underway to determine if they have been injured or killed during the attack or if they are safe.
TF spokesman Mohammad Faisal said the four injured Pakistanis were shot and wounded, but their condition was not immediately clear. The High Commission of Pakistan in New Zealand is making efforts to locate missing nationals, said the spokesman of the OP.
Asim Mukhtar, secretary of the Pakistan Association of New Zealand, said Dawn.com by telephone, one of the wounded was identified as Naeem Rashid, operated and rehabilitated. Rashid was identified by a member of the video broadcast live by the attacker. He reportedly attempted to arrest the badailant by shooting victims in the mosque. Rashid's son, Talha Naeem, is listed among the missing.
A second Pakistani victim, Muhammad Amin, 60, visiting Christchurch, has been identified. He was shot and received medical treatment, said Mukhtar.
A man of Australian descent, aged 28, was arrested and charged with murder. He is scheduled to appear in Christchurch District Court early Saturday. Two other men are still in detention, but their connection to the attack is unknown.
The Australian man, identified by international media outlets as Brenton Tarrant, filmed live scenes of himself ranging from room to room, victim to victim, shooting the wounded at close range while they were seated. They tried to move away. He also published a racist "manifesto" on social media before the attack, presenting conspiracy theories about Europeans "displaced" by immigrants and information about two years of preparation and radicalization leading to the shooting.
Its two targets were the Masjid al Noor mosque, where 41 people died, and a second smaller mosque in the suburb of Linwood, where seven others died. The remaining victim succumbed to the hospital.
"It's clear that this can only now be described as a terrorist attack," said Ardern. "From what we know, it seems to have been well planned."
Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found in a car and neutralized by the army, the police said.
Speaking in Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the armed man as "extremist, right-wing and violent terrorist."
The survivors included 17 members of the Bangladesh cricket team, whose match against New Zealand Saturday was postponed, and a Palestinian who ran away after seeing someone being shot a ball in the head.
"I heard three quick hits, and after about 10 seconds, everything started again. This had to be automatic – no one could pull a trigger as quickly, "said the man who did not want to be named. AFP.
"Then people started to miss. Some were covered in blood, "he said.
New Zealand police have described the shooter's footage as "extremely distressing" and warned Internet users that they could be held responsible for up to 10 years in prison for shared "objectionable content".
In addition to the images, a number of photos were posted on a social network account showing a semi-automatic weapon covered with the names of historical figures, many of whom were involved in the killing of Muslims.
The attack shocked New Zealanders, who routinely witness about fifty murders a year across the country, which has 4.8 million people, and who pride themselves on living in a safe and welcoming place.
The police, which had initially imposed a containment throughout the city, had sent armed officers on several stages and the level of threat in the country had gone from "low" to "high".
In Auckland, 1,000 kilometers away, two experts left by military explosives detonated two bags left unattended near a station.
The police also went to a property in Dunedin that they say is related to the attack and evacuated nearby residents. The southeastern city was named in the suspect's manifesto as the initial target of his attack.
Police warned Muslims across the country not to visit mosques "in New Zealand" following the attacks in Christchurch.
The Christchurch City Council has set up a helpline for parents looking for children attending a mbad rally against climate change near the shooting.
"Bodies everywhere"
The attack shocked the local Muslim population, many of whom had come to New Zealand as refugees.
The Ardern government has expressed support for opening doors to victims of wars in Syria, Afghanistan and beyond.
A witness said stuff.co.nz he was praying when he heard gunshots – and then saw his wife lying dead on the outside pavement when he ran away.
Another man said he saw children being shot. "There were bodies everywhere," he said.
The Bangladesh cricket team – which was in Christchurch for a test match and was about to go to the mosque when the attack took place – escaped without injury.
"They are safe. But they are shocked mentally. We asked the team to stay confined to the hotel, "said a manager. AFP.
The attacks have triggered horror and repulsion around the world.
US President Donald Trump condemned the "horrific mbadacre" in which "innocent people died senselessly".
Large-scale shootings are very rare in New Zealand, which has beefed up its gun laws to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles in 1992, two years after a man with illness mental killed 13 people in Aramoana, in the south of the South Island.
However, anyone over the age of 16 can apply for a standard firearms license after taking a safety course, which allows them to buy and use a shotgun without monitoring.
Christchurch, a relatively small town on the southern island of New Zealand, made headlines in 2011 when it was hit by a deadly earthquake, killing over 180 people.
What we know of the attacker
The main suspect, Brenton Tarrant, is an Australian citizen residing in Grafton, in the Australian state of New South Wales.
He is believed to have entered two mosques in Christchurch and shot dead 41 people at Masjid Al Noor at 1:40 pm local time, and seven others at the nearby Linwood Mask. However, this has not been confirmed by the New Zealand police.
He was identified after retransmitting the live mbadacre on social media with the help of a camera attached to his equipment.
According to the Australian media, he previously worked as a gym instructor and personal trainer and was obsessed with fitness.
According to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), "Tarrant s" is described as "an ordinary white man, born to an ordinary family" born in Australia into a "low-income working-clbad family". "
According to The Sydney Morning Heraldhe "was dedicated to fitness and organized free sports programs for children".
"He left the small town in 2012 to" travel "before settling in New Zealand," said the Herald reported. He has traveled a lot since his departure, especially in Europe and in various parts of Asia.
Tarrant's beliefs – set out in a 74-page manifesto posted online – revealed a worrying obsession with racial purity and white supremacy.
"He also wrote that he had started planning the attack" about two years in advance "and had chosen the definitive place three months before the attack," wrote the president. . Herald.
The title of his manifesto seems to have been inspired by an anti-immigration conspiracy theory of the same name, originally from France. In the manifesto, Tarrant stated that he was motivated to carry out the attack after visiting France and observed the migrants who lived there.
"The 74-page document, called The big replacement, consists of a rant on the white genocide and enumerates various objectives, including the creation of a "climate of fear" against Muslims, "said The Guardian.
"The document, which suggests an obsession with violent uprisings against Islam, claims that the suspect had a" brief contact "with the Norwegian murderer Anders Behring Breivik and that Breivik gave a" blessing "to him. attack, "said the organization. The Guardian said, adding that Tarrant has been described as "an ethnonationalist and a fascist".
He also expressed his support for US President Trump as "a symbol of a renewed white identity and common purpose," but said he did not admire him as a as "decision-maker and leader". L & # 39; Independent reported.
"The suspect wanted to send a message [to Muslims] that "nowhere in the world is safe", " The Guardian reported. "The choice of weapon – firearms – was designed to get maximum publicity."
"I chose the guns for the impact it would have on the social speech, the additional media coverage that they would bring and the effect that it could have on the politics of the media." United States and hence the political situation of the world "," The Guardian quoted from the manifesto.
"An unprecedented act of violence"
Prime Minister Ardern described the incident as an "unprecedented act of violence".
"I would call it an unprecedented act of violence, an act that has absolutely no place in New Zealand, that's not what we are," she said at of a press conference.
"I can tell you now that it is and that it will be one of the darkest days in New Zealand."
Ardern confirmed that one person had been arrested. She cited anti-immigrant sentiment as a possible motive, saying that while many people affected by the shooting were migrants or refugees, they "chose to settle in New Zealand, and that's where they live. They are us. The person who perpetuated this violence against us is not. "
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