[ad_1]
The gunman accused in attacks on the New Zealand mosque sent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern his 74-page rant against foreign "invaders" a few minutes before the launch of his badault that killed at least 50 worshipers.
Ardern said that his office and others had received an e-mail from the so-called manifesto of the alleged armed man nine minutes before the attacks began, but that there was not enough time to take steps to stop the killing.
"It did not include a place, it did not include specific details … If we could have [stopped it]we would have absolutely, "she told reporters Sunday.
"This was received by more than 30 recipients nine minutes before the firearms were fired and less than two minutes after it was received, it was sent to our parliamentary security service," Ardern said. "But again, in the opinion of the police, by the time these emails were received, they had already received the 911 calls and answered, and one person was arrested in less than 36 minutes."
In emotional scenes, Ardern had already met members mourning the Muslim community of Wellington.
Friday's attack, described as "terrorism" by Ardern, was the worst mbad murder ever committed in peacetime in New Zealand and the country has raised its level of security threat to the highest degree.
Another body found
The death toll in the shootings in the New Zealand mosque was raised to 50 after the police said they found another body, while an overburdened hospital had been forced to postpone surgical procedures while it was overcrowded. he was struggling to cope with the large number of wounded.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said that the body of the 50th victim was found at Al Noor Mosque, where more than 40 people had died after entering the aggressor and had fired at random on people equipped with semi-automatic rifles with high-capacity magazines, before going to a second mosque. Do the same thing.
"Last night, we were able to take all the victims from these two scenes and by doing so we were able to locate another victim," Bush said.
Thirty-four people were still in Christchurch hospital, 12 of them in critical condition and one child was transferred to a dedicated pediatric hospital in Auckland.
Greg Robertson, head of the surgery department at Christchurch Hospital, said the medical staff was struggling to cope with the enormity of the situation.
"We are struggling as much as everyone else.This is not something we hoped to see in our environment.We see gunshot wounds, but 50 people in a day, that's more than what we should see, "Robertson said at a press conference.
Alleged attacker
Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, presumed white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday. Tarrant was dismissed without a plea and must appear in court on April 5th. Police said he was facing new charges.
Images of the attack of one of the mosques were broadcast on Facebook and a "manifesto" denouncing immigrants as "invaders" was also posted online.
Victims' bodies had not yet been handed over to families as investigations were under way, but the police were working as quickly as possible, Bush said at a press conference in Wellington.
In Islam, it is customary to bury the dead within 24 hours.
"We need to be absolutely clear about the cause of death and confirm their identity before it happens, but we are so aware of cultural and religious needs that we are doing it as quickly and as sensitively as possible," Bush said. .
Bush said the police did not believe that three other people arrested on Friday were involved in the attack. Two men were charged with indictment charges unrelated to the attack, while one woman was released, he said.
Tarrant had no criminal history and did not appear on any watch list in New Zealand and Australia.
In a manifesto circulating online, Tarrant is described as "an ordinary white man of 28 years" who used the loot of cryptocurrency trading to finance long journeys to Europe in recent years.
Mourning in Christchurch
At a roadblock in front of Al Noor Mosque on Sunday, dozens of people gathered to lay flowers, hand in condolence notes and mourn silently.
Among those present were representatives of a local Maori group who executed a haka (a ceremonial dance or challenge in Maori culture) to honor those killed.
Shane Turner, 66, said the community's response since Friday said "Christchurch's talk".
"It shows how resilient we are as people, as we have experienced a lot of tragedies and the earthquake as well," Turner told Al Jazeera, referring to the 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people.
Other people present, many of whom lost loved ones during the shooting, described the trauma suffered by the Muslim community in Christchurch.
Waleed Washsh, a regular at Al Noor Mosque, said the city's Muslims were devastated by the loss of "so many friends, so quickly".
"It's a small community, everyone knows everyone – there is not a single Muslim house here in Christchurch that would not have been affected by that," Washsh said. Al Jazeera.
"I do not think words can do justice to the sorrow we are experiencing," he added.
"Hero" hailed
A man from the second mosque in the suburb of Linwood was hailed for distracting the attacker and confronting him, thus preventing other deaths.
Abdul Aziz, 48, told local press that he heard gunshots and ran outside the mosque, shouting after the man-gunman and fleeing from the mosque. building, Newshub reported.
Aziz, a native of Afghanistan, said that he had picked up one of the weapons thrown from the gunman and threatened him.
The police then hit the shooter's vehicle and stopped him.
"These two officers acted with absolute courage," Bush said. "They avoided other deaths and risked their own lives to do it."
Religious services for the victims of the attack took place throughout the country, including at the "Cardboard Cathedral" in Christchurch, a temporary structure built after the destruction of much of the central city during an earthquake in 2011.
The majority of the victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Muslims make up about 1% of New Zealand's population.
Pakistan's high commissioner said six citizens were killed and three others missing.
[ad_2]
Source link
