Mosque attacks in New Zealand: what we know up to now | New Zealand

Two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, were attacked on Friday. At least 49 people were killed and more than 40 wounded as a result of Muslims' devotion.

Here's what we know so far about gun badaults:

What happened?

During the Friday afternoon prayer, Islam's holy day, an armed gunman opened fire on the Masjid al Noor mosque in central Christchurch, killing 41 people. Seven others were killed in a second mosque five kilometers from the suburb of Linwood, three of which were outside the building.

The remaining victim died at the hospital.

Witnesses testified that some victims were shot at close range.

Farid Ahmed, a wheelchair witness in Christchurch, told Al Jazeera that he was at the back of the mosque and had heard the shooting for about seven minutes.

"I pushed myself to the back where my car was parked and I was behind the car, and from there I heard gunshots firing after firing," he said. he declares. "After about 10 minutes, I thought the shooter was gone, I forced myself into the mosque and it was amazing.I saw in the main room right over 20 people, some dead , others screaming.

"I saw on the ground hundreds of bullets, I saw a guy who was trying to escape and he was shot."

Another witness said he saw his wife lying outside as he escaped, another said he saw children being shot.

The shooter broadcasted on Facebook a video footage of the attack of one of the mosques.

The video, which lasts nearly 17 minutes, shows a white man dressed in camouflage and black clothing leading to what appears to be the Al Noor Mosque. After entering the site, he repeatedly fired on worshipers, leaving more than a dozen bodies in one room.

He returned to the car during this period to change his rifle and returned to the mosque to shoot anyone who showed signs of life.

The video is filmed in the manner of a first person shooter video game.

It was not immediately clear whether the attacks at both mosques had been perpetrated by the same man.

Who were the victims?

People from all over the world were in the mosque at the time of the badault. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said some of the victims may have been new immigrants or refugees.

Young children were among the 42 people treated at the Christchurch Hospital. In a Twitter article, New Zealand police said a four-year-old was one of two people seriously injured during the attack.

Two of the injured people are critical and this includes a four-year-old who is being transported to Starship Hospital this morning.

41 people were killed at the mosque of Deans Avenue and seven others at the mosque of Linwood Avenue. One of them died in the hospital.

– New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019

A Jordanian was killed in the attack, announced the Foreign Ministry, the first and only victim identified by the authorities so far. At least five Jordanians were among the wounded.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said two Indonesians – a father and his son – had been injured during the attack. The father was in intensive care and his son was being treated in the same hospital, according to ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir, who refused to identify them.

The ambbadador of Afghanistan said on Twitter that three Afghans had been injured. Two Malaysians have been injured, their foreign ministry said.

A Saudi man and two Turks were also among the wounded.

The Indian High Commissioner in New Zealand said nine people of Indian origin or nationality were missing.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal wounded four Pakistanis during the shooting.

Some narrowly escaped, including the Bangladesh cricket team who were on their way to pray at Al Noor Mosque before a test match against New Zealand's host team.

Khaled Mashud, the team leader, said he saw "bloody people coming out of the mosque … we kept our heads down on the bus when shooting".

How did the authorities react?

The police imposed a containment throughout the city, sending armed officers to several scenes. Two improvised explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle and neutralized.

Three men and one woman were arrested. One of the men was later charged with murder and two others remained in detention, although their role in the attacks is unclear.

Officials warned Muslims not to visit mosques "in New Zealand", a country of nearly five million residents where large-scale shootings are rare. A police presence was installed in the country's mosques and intensified in Christchurch.

In the midst of exacerbated tensions, the military carried out controlled explosions of two bags left unattended in Auckland's center, although they were undisputed.

Ardern, the prime minister, said that the badault on the mosques appeared to be a well planned "terrorist attack".

"It is, and it will be one of the darkest days in New Zealand," Ardern told reporters.

Who are the suspects?

The three suspects have not yet been identified and the police refused to comment on their motives, citing ongoing investigations.

New Zealand's premier Ardern described the suspects as having "extremist views". She said that her government had no reason to believe that there were more suspects, but that the intelligence services and the police were working to establish that.

Mike Bush, police commissioner of New Zealand, said that the man accused of murder was not known intelligence services. He added that the police "were not aware of other people, but we can not badume that there are no others on the run."

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that the alleged murder suspect was an Australian citizen and described him as "an extremist, right-wing and violent terrorist".

The 28-year-old suspect, who is scheduled to appear in a Saturday courthouse in Christchurch, issued a racist manifesto on Twitter before the shooting, which he posted on Facebook.

Entitled "The Great Replacement", the 74-page manifest indicates that the shooter – who introduced himself as a white man born in Australia and belonging to a low-income working clbad family – wanted to attack Muslims. The title of the manifesto bears the same name as a theory of conspiracy originating in France that thinks that European populations are displaced in their country of origin by groups of immigrants with a higher birth rate.

A number of photos were published on a social media account showing a semi-automatic weapon covered by the names of historical figures, many of whom were involved in the killing of Muslims.

Facebook and Twitter said they would remove content related to filming.