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New Zealand is mourning the deaths of 49 people in two mosques in the world's deadliest country.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described Friday's shooting in the city of Christchurch as one of the "darkest days" in New Zealand.
Flowers were left in front of mosques across the country as worried families wait for news of their missing relatives.
An armed man suspected of being a white supremacist broadcast the rampage. A man in his twenties has been arrested and must appear in court.
Two other people are in detention. No name has been made public.
In total, 48 people were injured during the shooting. The identities of the dead and wounded have not been revealed.
Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia all claim that some of their citizens have been killed and others are missing.
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On Saturday, the mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel, expressed her "revulsion" for this "act of terrorism" and her solidarity with the victims.
"We welcomed new people to our city, they are our friends, our neighbors," she told reporters. "We want to come together to support them."
Security remains tight in Christchurch. All mosques in New Zealand have been closed.
How events happened
A first attack was reported at Al Noor Mosque in central Christchurch during Friday prayers at 1:40 pm (0040 GMT).
An armed man drove to the front door, entered and fired on the faithful for about five minutes.
The shooter, who aired the live attack from a camera mounted to the head, said it was a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant. The images showed him shooting men, women and children.
One survivor told the New Zealand Herald newspaper how he escaped through a window.
Nour Tavis, of Moroccan descent, said he was at the forefront when the shooting started.
"People were running and suddenly you saw them fall," he said. He saw someone breaking a window. "I followed … it was the safest place to go out."
The wife of one of his friends was killed, he said.
"When she heard the noise, she wanted to go there and make sure her husband was safe," he said. "She got the ball, her husband is gone."
- The role of social media in the Christchurch attack
- The security of British mosques in the study
Copyright of the image
AFP
Flowers were placed in a mosque in the capital, Wellington, and others around New Zealand
The gunman allegedly drove about 5 km to another mosque in the suburb of Linwood, where the second shooting took place.
A witness recounted how one of the faithful had managed to disarm the man, who was rushing outside in a car.
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It is not known where the arrests took place.
Bangladesh's national cricket team, who came to Bangladesh, narrowly escaped: she was about to pray at Al Noor Mosque.
Police said they recovered firearms from both mosques and discovered explosive devices in a car belonging to one of the suspects.
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According to the latest census figures, Muslims make up about 1.1% of the 4.25 million inhabitants of New Zealand.
Since the late 1990s, New Zealand has welcomed refugees from various war-torn countries.
The main suspect
The social media accounts on behalf of Brenton Tarrant were used to publish a long racist document in which the author identified the mosques that were later attacked.
The man says that he started planning an attack after visiting Europe in 2017 and being irritated by the events that took place there.
The document entitled "The Great Replacement" – a phrase of French origin and which has become a rallying cry for European anti-immigration extremists.
Although the New Zealand police claimed to have murdered a man in his early twenties, she did not identify him.
Global reaction
"It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack," Premier Ardern told reporters.
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. "
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 assaulted 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".
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