49 dead in mosque attacks in New Zealand

<! –

->

Forty-nine people were killed and at least 20 injured during a shootout in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Premier Jacinda Ardern described the incident as a terrorist attack and one of New Zealand's "darkest days". It is the most lethal attack of the nation.

An armed man identifying himself as an Australian aired on Facebook the disaster of the Al Noor mosque.

A man in his twenties was arrested and charged with murder. Two other men and a woman were also arrested.

Firearms and explosive devices have been recovered, police chief Mike Bush said. One of the detainees was released later.

The shooter has broadcast live the attack from a camera mounted on his head and said it was a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant. The images showed him blindly shooting men, women and children up close inside the Al Noor Mosque.

Police have called on the public not to share "extremely distressing" images online. Facebook said that he had deleted the Facebook and Instagram accounts of the armed man and that he was working to remove all copies of the images.

A man who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant (pictured) witnessed the live killing of dozens of people in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The suspect who had been charged seemed to have published before the attack a document setting out his intentions and in which he espoused an ideology of the far right and anti-immigrant. He must appear in court on Saturday morning.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described this man as a "right-wing extremist" terrorist. Police Commissioner Bush confirmed that the man was not known in advance of the New Zealand or Australian security services.

New Zealand police said police officers had gone to a property in the town of Dunedin following the attack on Christchurch.

"It is clear that this can no longer be described as a terrorist attack," said Premier Ardern at a press conference.

In a tweet, she said: "What happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence and has no place in New Zealand, many of whom will be members of our migrant communities – New Zealand is their home – it's us. "

How events happened

Armed policemen patrol the streets following the shooting at Al Noor Mosque

The first attack announcement was reported at Al Noor Mosque in central Christchurch. Witnesses told the local media that they had run for their lives and had seen people bleeding on the ground outside the building.

A second mosque in the suburb of Linwood was evacuated, but there were fewer details on this site. The police also defused "several bombs" [explosive devices] attached to vehicles, "Bush said.

The authorities advised all mosques in the city to close their doors until further notice. Armed policemen were also seen at Papanui High School in Christchurch, which was cordoned off.

Mr Bush said that a number of guns had been found in both mosques and that explosive devices had been found in a car belonging to one of the suspects.

Images filmed by the gunman at the Al Noor Mosque showed him heading towards the entrance gate, before taking up arms from his car, entering the mosque and from shoot those who were inside.

An anonymous survivor told TV New Zealand that he had seen the shooter pull a man directly into the chest. The attacker reportedly targeted the men's prayer hall in the mosque and then went to the women's room.

"What I did was basically wait and pray, God please, let this guy run out of bullets," said the witness. "He came to this side, he shot on that side, he went into another room and went into the ladies' section and shot them down." I heard that one of the ladies was dead. "

A witness described hearing fast shots and seeing a man hit in the head.

"I heard three quick blows, then after about 10 seconds, everything started again, it had to be automatic, no one could pull a trigger so fast," he said. "Then people started running, some were covered with blood."

Police arrested and charged a man "under the age of 20". He is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday. In the photo, Tarrant during a vacation in Pakistan

Police advised residents of Christchurch not to stay on the street and stay indoors and a lockdown was set up in all schools in the area. The lockdown was then lifted and parents were allowed to pick up their children.

The main suspect

Brenton Tarrant is identified in the streaming video on Facebook.

The social media accounts bearing this name were used to publish a long racist document in which the author identified the mosques that had subsequently been attacked and exposed the anti-immigrant motives.

Although the New Zealand police said they had murdered a man in his early twenties, she did not identify him.

The cricket team escapes the attack

Bangladesh's national cricket team seems to have narrowly escaped the shootout. A journalist following the team, who faced New Zealand on Saturday in a canceled test-match, tweeted that the team had "escaped from a mosque near Hagley Park where there were shooters badets. "

The player Tamim Iqbal tweeted that "the entire team had been saved from active shooters".

Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman, Jalal Yunus, said most of the team members had gone to the mosque by bus and were about to go back inside when the bus was over. incident occurred.

"They are safe, but they are mentally shocked, we asked the team to stay confined to the hotel," he told the AFP news agency.

What was the reaction?

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has presented "his warmest sympathies and best wishes" to New Zealand. "The United States stands with New Zealand for all we can do, God bless everyone!" he wrote.

British Prime Minister Theresa May presented her "most sincere condolences to the people of New Zealand".

The Queen stated that she was "deeply saddened by the horrendous events that took place today in Christchurch, Prince Philip and I extend our condolences".

Pope Francis offered his "sincere solidarity" and was "deeply saddened to learn the injuries and loss of life caused by these senseless acts of violence," said the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, in a telegram.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she "cried" with New Zealanders for their fellow citizens who were badaulted and murdered by racist hate while peacefully praying in their mosques ".

And French President Emmanuel Macron called the attack "odious attack" and said that France stood "against any form of extremism".