Summary
We’ll leave it there for now. Here’s a wrap of today’s events:
- The death toll from Friday’s massacre in Christchurch rose to 50 on Sunday. Officials had initially said 49 people were killed.
- Another 50 were injured in the attack, 36 of whom remained in hospital, including one child. Eleven of them remained in intensive care.
- The New Zealand police commissioner, Mike Bush, said another person had been taken into custody because of “evidence collected during the investigation” into the shooting, though they were not believed to be directly linked to the massacre.
- The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said her office received a copy of the suspected shooter’s so-called “manifesto” nine minutes before the attack took place. It was reported to parliamentary security within two minutes of being received.
- Ardern said the document was sent to more than 30 recipients including media outlets. “It did not include a location, it did not include specific details,” she said.
- The bodies of a small number of victims will start to be returned to families from Sunday night. Ardern said she expects all the bodies will be returned to families by Wednesday.
- The New Zealand government cabinet will meet on Monday. Ardern said cabinet would receive an agency briefing and hold “preliminary policy discussions” about issues including changes to the country’s gun laws.
- Ardern also revealed she had spoken to Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, following the shooting.
- Bush also defended the police response time to the shooting, telling reporters armed police staff were on the scene within six minutes of receiving the first emergency call.
- The imam of Al Noor mosque, Gamal Fouda, spoke to media for the first time, describing a scene of horror inside the mosque during the shooting and telling journalists he still “can’t believe that I’m alive”.
Updated
Imam of Al Noor mosque in Christchurch: 'I still can't believe that I’m alive'
The imam of Al Noor mosque in Christchurch has spoken to media for the first time.
Gamal Fouda told reporters at the New Zealand Herald on Sunday that he still “can’t believe that I’m alive”, describing a scene of horror inside the mosque.
“I still can’t believe that I’m alive, he was shooting people and we were in there [hiding], we couldn’t even breathe from the smoke and the bullets flying everywhere.”
Fouda, who said he’d hardly slept since the attack, told the Herald he had just begun delivering his sermon when the shooting broke out.
He said one worshiper broke a window which allowed people on that side of the mosque to escape.
“But on the left side people they fall on each other and they piled on top of each other and he was standing and aiming at them and whenever he heard any noise coming from anywhere he would shoot towards it.”
Fouda said the gunman was “calmly” standing over people and “shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting”.
At one point during the attack the gunman returned to his vehicle to pick up another rifle. Fouda said those hiding inside the mosque had not known whether he had left.
“We were not able to see him [and] thank god he didn’t know where we are ... he came back and started shooting again [and] those people who came out from the hide he shoot them again ... because we didn’t know that he was coming back,” he said.
Alabi Lateef Zirullah, a prayer leader at the Linwood mosque, where the shooter attacked after leaving Al Noor, told the Herald the shooting began at about 1.55pm, with a man and wife gunned down outside.
“When I saw those Muslims shot dead I just told our brothers, ‘Go down! Go down! Somebody has just shot our brothers outside the masjid’,” Zirullah said.
“No one listened to me until unfortunately he came from behind and he shot one of our brothers [in] the head through the window. He saw him standing and shot him [through] the window. When glass got broken and the brother fell down, everyone realised to go down.”
Updated
A vigil is under way in Wellington where a huge crowd has gathered.
Updated
In Sydney, hundreds gathered in the pouring rain on Sunday calling for the end of Islamophobia in the country that produced Friday’s alleged killer.
Umbrellas went up outside the New Zealand consulate and the crowd spilled into what undercover nooks there were, as the speakers told the media and politicians to look at themselves. It had been raining for hours and it did not stop. There was a minute’s silence, before Dalya Ayoub, a Palestinian-New Zealander, spoke.
“We have been dehumanised for decades,” she said. “My daughters are constantly being reminded every day through the media to go back to where they came from. The Nazis have to go. White supremacy has to go. Not us.”
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the focus should be on “our so-called mainstream politicians” like Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, both former immigration ministers.
“I haven’t forgotten the years of race-baiting,” she said. “This is the time to be as loud as we can – we have to keep the media accountable and make sure politicians who do spread hate and bigotry are kicked out. They don’t deserve to be there.”
Updated
Police in Manchester in the UK arrested a man yesterday “on suspicion of sending malicious communications” in relation to the Christchurch shooting.
In a statement, Greater Manchester police said officers “became aware of a post on social media making reference and support for the terrible events in New Zealand”.
“Police have made urgent enquiries and a man aged 24 from the Oldham area is now under arrest on suspicion of sending malicious communications,” police said.
A police spokesman said: “This is a very difficult time for people. The events in New Zealand have reverberated around the world. Many people are in deep shock and are worried.
“It is at times like this that, as a community, we stand together. Where the law permits and people cross the line, we will take robust action, which may include arrest and prosecution.”
Updated
Australia’s opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said a little earlier that rightwing politicians could not disown their hatred, racism and intolerance.
“You who want to practice in the name of free speech hate speech, you who hide behind liberty to practice evil, well you have created this swamp of hate,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
“You cannot disown what crawls out of your swamp.”
Shorten also commented on the 17-year-old boy who was arrested after he cracked an egg on the head of Senator Fraser Anning.
Video of the incident shows the senator reacting violently towards the boy. The teenager has since been released pending further inquiries.
Shorten said it was a silly thing to have done. “It doesn’t matter what rubbish the politician was spouting, you don’t want to give this foolish politician, this hurtful politician any sense of the moral high ground because he has none,” he said.
Updated
Updated
Facebook says that within 24 hours of Friday’s shooting the company had removed 1.5 million videos of the attack from its platform globally.
In the first 24 hours we removed 1.5 million videos of the attack globally, of which over 1.2 million were blocked at upload...
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) March 17, 2019
Bush has finished speaking.
Bush said tomorrow New Zealanders will see “a highly visible police presence on the streets, around your businesses, around your schools, and even in the air, right across the country. So you will feel safe to go about what you want to do tomorrow.”
Updated
Bush is asked about reports that concerns were raised about a gun club that the alleged shooter was a member of, with a hunter telling local media he reported his concerns to the police.
That commentary has come to us and we are exploring that. We will speak to those people. We would anyway, as part of the investigation. And anything that comes to light like that, we will be sharing.
He says he is not aware whether police were made aware of the concerns.
So we’re working through that as well. It’s important, when we know the answers to that, we share them with you.
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush is speaking to the media now. He says it was a “very quick response” to the attack.
I can tell you that within six minutes of police being called on 111, within six minutes, armed police staff were on the scene. Within 10 minutes members of our armed defenders squad were on the scene and within 36 minutes we had that mobile offender in our custody.
Updated
The leaders of both the Coalition and Labor in the Australian Senate – Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong – have confirmed they will move a joint censure motion against Senator Fraser Anning when the parliament resumes in April. Here’s the motion:
That the Senate:
(a) notes:
i. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes...freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”,
ii. religious persecution knows no geographic or sectarian boundaries and it afflicts religious believers of virtually every faith, on every continent,
iii. the strong statements made across the nation, led by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, that violence such as that witnessed in Christchurch is an affront on our common humanity,
iv. in the face of attacks designed to sow division, our responses must bring us together, recognising an attack on any religion is an attack on all religions and that we all share a responsibility to unite, condemn and defeat such an attack on our common values and way of life; and
(b) calls on all Australians to stand against hate and to publicly, and always, condemn actions and comments designed to incite fear and distrust
(c) endorses the statement of the Imam Hasan Centre following the attacks in Christchurch that: “It is times like this that we lose hope and doubt humanity, when people of faith come under attack in such a way, it shows us how low humanity can fall. However, it never ceases to amaze how far humanity can rise after such despicable events”
(d) censures Senator Anning for his inflammatory and divisive comments seeking to attribute blame to victims of a horrific crime and to vilify people on the basis of religion, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people.
Updated
The death toll from the Christchurch shooting rose to 50 this morning. Another 50 were injured and many still remain in hospital. Naaman Zhou and Sean Jacobs have worked on this list of the confirmed victims. It includes those victims who have been confirmed as killed, missing or injured – either by statements from family members, official organisations or both.
Haumaha and Marshall have finished speaking.
Haumaha confirms that two children died in the attack.
Updated
Haumaha says the victims ages ranged from “very close” to three-years-old to 77.
Marshall said victim postmortems began this morning, which includes the formal identification process. That confirms what we heard earlier from Jacinda Ardern that some of the bodies will be returned to families tonight.
Updated
The chief coroner, Deborah Marshall, is now speaking.
She said the coroner’s office was working “as quickly as possible” to return the bodies of victims to families as soon as possible.
We are very aware in the coronial service of the cultural issues surrounding this and are doing everything we can to manage the process in a culturally appropriate way.
Updated
New Zealand’s deputy police chief, Wally Haumaha, is speaking to media now.
He says the focus is on returning victims to loved ones “as quickly as possible”.
Updated
What we learned from Jacinda Ardern's press conference
- The New Zealand prime minister’s office received a copy of the suspected shooter’s so-called “manifesto” nine minutes before the attack took place. It was reported to parliamentary security within two minutes of being received.
- Ardern said the document was sent to more than 30 recipients including media outlets. “It did not include a location, it did not include specific details,” she said.
- The bodies of a small number of victims will start to be returned to families from this evening. Ardern said she expects all the bodies will be returned to families by Wednesday.
- The New Zealand government cabinet will meet tomorrow. Ardern said cabinet will receive an agency briefing and hold “preliminary policy discussions” about issues including changes to the country’s gun laws.
- Ardern confirmed that she has sought advice about the possibility of the suspected gunman being deported. However, she said that “absolutely charges and the trial itself will happen in New Zealand”.
- “What I can say is that in the cases where we have seen deportation, it is generally at the conclusion of sentence being served,” she said.
- Ardern revealed she had spoken to Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, following the shooting. She said there are “further questions to be answered” about the role of technology companies in bringing down content including the video of the shooting circulated on social media.
Updated
And Ardern has finished taking questions.
Updated
Ardern is asked about Senator Fraser Anning’s comments following Friday’s shooting.
They were a disgrace.
She says there are “questions to be answered” about the role of social media platforms in sharing footage like the video circulated following the shooting.
Certainly, as you know, we did as much as we could to remove, or seek to have removed, some of the footage that was being circulated in the aftermath of this terrorist attack. But ultimately it has been up to those platforms to facilitate their removal and support their removal. I do think that there are further questions to be answered.
Obviously the social media platforms have wide reach. This is a problem that goes well beyond New Zealand. It has played out in other parts of the world. So while we might have seen action taken here, that has not dented them being circulated beyond New Zealand’s shores. This is an issue that goes well beyond New Zealand but it doesn’t mean we can’t play an active role in seeing it resolved.
Ardern confirms she has spoken to Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook.
Updated
The document was also sent to media outlets and the parliamentary tourism desk.
Ardern is being asked about her office’s response to receiving the document from the suspected gunman. It was sent to her office nine minutes before the shooting and passed to parliamentary security.
She says she has been told by police that “actually by the time any of those details could have been passed on they were already receiving” emergency calls.
Ardern says cabinet will also discuss “issues around watch lists and how we can assure we give assurances to the public that our agencies have the tools they need”.
Updated
Ardern repeats that there “will be changes to our gun laws”.
We cannot be deterred from the work we need to do on our gun laws in New Zealand. They need to change.
Updated
Ardern confirms her office was one of more than 30 that received an email from the suspected shooter nine minutes before the attack took place.
“It did not include a location, it did not include specific details.”
Ardern says that within two minutes it was sent to parliamentary security.
Updated
She’s asked about the possibility of the suspected gunman being deported. Ardern says she’s sought advice on the issue, but says “absolutely charges and the trial itself will happen in New Zealand”.
Updated
The New Zealand government cabinet will meet tomorrow. Ardern says cabinet will receive an agency briefing and hold “preliminary policy discussions” about issues including gun policy.
Ardern met with members of the Islamic community in Wellington earlier today. She said they expressed “gratitude for the outpouring of love they have experienced from the people of Wellington”.
Ardern is now speaking in Wellington. She says the bodies of a small number of victims will start to be returned to families from this evening. She expects all the bodies will be returned to families by Wednesday.
Updated
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is due to speak to the media very soon. Appears she’s slightly delayed.
Updated
Representatives of the Turkish government will visit Christchurch over the next two days, New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, says.
The vice-president of Turkey, Fuat Oktay, and the minister of foreign affairs, Mevlut Cavusoglu, are visiting Christchurch to pay their respects after the terrorist attack.
“They will meet members of the Muslim community, take an opportunity to lay flowers and wreaths, and meet government representatives this evening,” Peters said.
“New Zealand has welcomed the Turkish government’s messages of condolence over the large loss of innocent life.”
Updated
The New Zealand telecommunications industry will attempt to block footage of the Christchurch terrorist attack from websites in the country.
The country’s main internet service providers – Spark, Vodafone, Vocus and 2degrees – are blocking any website which has footage of Christchurch mosque shootings.
On Sunday the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum chief executive, Geoff Thorn, called it an “unprecedented move by the telecommunications industry”.
“The industry is working together to ensure this harmful content can’t be viewed by New Zealanders,” he said in a statement.
“The gunman clearly wanted his actions to be seen, but we do not believe that this is desirable and are doing what we can to prevent this from happening as much as possible.”
A number of websites have so far been blacklisted, with requests made for the website to remove the footage.
“There is the risk that some sites that have legitimate content could have been mistakenly blacklisted, but this will be rectified as soon as possible,” Thorn said.
“The industry has a history of cooperating and putting competitive behaviour to one side for the benefit of New Zealanders, of which this is another good example.”
Updated
Associated Press has spoken to Abdul Aziz, the man who chased the alleged gunman from the Linwood mosque with a credit card machine.
When the gunman entered the mosque Aziz, 48, picked up the first thing he could find, a credit card machine, and ran outside screaming “come here”, AP reports.
Aziz is being hailed as a hero for preventing more deaths during Friday prayers at the Linwood mosque in Christchurch after leading the gunman in a cat-and-mouse chase before scaring him into speeding away in his car.
But Aziz, whose four sons and dozens of others remained in the mosque while he faced off with the gunman, said he thinks it’s what anyone would have done.
Latef Alabi, the Linwood mosque’s acting imam, said the death toll would have been far higher at the Linwood mosque if it wasn’t for Aziz.
Alabi said he heard a voice outside the mosque at about 1.55pm and stopped the prayer he was leading and peeked out the window. He saw a guy in black military-style gear and a helmet holding a large gun, and assumed it was a police officer. Then he saw two bodies and heard the gunman yelling obscenities.
“I realised this is something else. This is a killer,” he said.
He yelled at the congregation of more than 80 to get down. They hesitated. A shot rang out, a window shattered and a body fell, and people began to realise it was for real.
“Then this brother came over. He went after him, and he managed to overpower him, and that’s how we were saved,” Alabi said, referring to Aziz. “Otherwise, if he managed to come into the mosque, then we would all probably be gone.”
Aziz said as he ran outside screaming, he was hoping to distract the attacker. He said the gunman ran back to his car to get another gun, and Aziz hurled the credit card machine at him.
He said he could hear his two youngest sons, aged 11 and five, urging him to come back inside.
The gunman returned, firing. Aziz said he ran, weaving through cars parked in the driveway, which prevented the gunman from getting a clean shot. Then Aziz spotted a gun the gunman had abandoned and picked it up, pointed it and squeezed the trigger. It was empty.
He said the gunman ran back to the car for a second time, likely to grab yet another weapon.
“He gets into his car and I just got the gun and threw it on his window like an arrow and blasted his window,” he said.
The windshield shattered: “That’s why he got scared.”
He said the gunman was cursing at him, yelling that he was going to kill them all. But he drove away and Aziz said he chased the car down the street to a red light, before it made a U-turn and sped away. Online videos indicate police officers managed to force the car from the road and drag out the suspect soon after.
Originally from Kabul, Afghanistan, Aziz said he left as a refugee when he was a boy and lived for more than 25 years in Australia before moving to New Zealand a couple of years ago.
“I’ve been to a lot of countries and this is one of the beautiful ones,” he said. And, he always thought, a peaceful one as well.
Aziz said he didn’t feel fear or much of anything when facing the gunman. It was like he was on autopilot. And he believes that God, that Allah, didn’t think it was his time to die.
Updated
David Meates, the chief executive of the Canterbury district health board, has issued an update about those still in hospital following the attack.
We currently have 34 patients who were injured in the mosque attacks in Christchurch hospital.
Two were discharged late yesterday and we expect two more people will be well enough to go home later today. There are currently 12 people in intensive care in a critical condition. We expect a small number of these people to be well enough to transfer to other wards later today.
There is also one four-year-old girl in Starship hospital in Auckland in a critical condition. She was transferred from Christchurch to Auckland on Saturday 16 March.
Yesterday we treated and discharged nine new patients who were injured in the mosque attacks and presented at the Christchurch hospital emergency department with injuries such embedded glass fragments, lacerations and back, knee and foot injuries.
Updated
New Zealand Football has paid tribute to Atta Elayyan, a futsal player who was among those killed in Friday’s shooting.
Josh Margetts from New Zealand Football said: “To Atta’s family, we are deeply sorry for your loss. We can’t imagine what you are going through, but please know we love you and we are here for you during this incredibly difficult time.”
QUOTE | @NZ_Football Futsal Development Manager @margetts_josh: “To Atta’s family, we are deeply sorry for your loss. We can’t imagine what you are going through, but please know we love you and we are here for you during this incredibly difficult time.” #RIPAtta @MainlandFooty pic.twitter.com/tCcileWiUK
— New Zealand Football (@NZ_Football) March 17, 2019
QUOTE: @MainlandFooty CEO Julian Bowden on @attaelayyan. "Atta was a popular member of the Canterbury United family. We are in a state of shock with this news. On behalf of everyone at Mainland Football, we reiterate what many have said that this is not our New Zealand.” #RIPAtta pic.twitter.com/MIWNIIR8VN
— New Zealand Football (@NZ_Football) March 17, 2019
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, says the “full force of the law” should apply to Fraser Anning after he punched a 17-year-old boy who egged him at an event in Melbourne, Paul Karp reports
Speaking earlier this morning, Morrison also flagged a tougher approach to social media companies, urging them to boost capacity to stop extremist videos.
The Otago Daily Times reports that the owner of New Zealand firearms chain Gun City, David Tipple, will hold a press conference tomorrow.
New Zealand’s gun laws have come under heavy scrutiny since Friday’s mass shooting. On Saturday the country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the country would ban semi-automatic weapons.
Ardern also said it was believed the weapons used in the attack had been modified and that loopholes that allow such modifications would be closed in proposed gun reforms to be discussed by cabinet on Monday.
Full details of the weapons used in the attack have not been released publicly but Ardern confirmed that two semi-automatic rifles – which are legal in New Zealand – were involved.
Her comments have reportedly led to people “panic buying” firearms in the country.
Updated
Mahmood Kahn is from Bangladesh and is at Christchurch hospital to support the Bangladeshi community.
There is no consulate in New Zealand for Bangladesh. “So I am here,” he tells Guardian Australia.
“The honorary consul for Bangladesh in New Zealand, Shafiqur Rahman Anu, is now here. I am waiting for him to meet me here and help me see the injured. He has been talking to the families of those who passed away. Quite a few have now come over from Auckland because that has the biggest community of Bangladeshis in New Zealand.
“I am a captain of a ship. We were on our way here to Christchurch from Auckland and arrived at 1am this morning. I went straight to the mosque. I am just so very sad, we are all very sad. I needed to immediately go there and pay my respects. We are living in this country, my family, for about 16 years.
“I felt very safe and never even thought this would happen in New Zealand. If the ship was here on Friday I would have been at the Al Noor mosque. I have prayed in that mosque before, many times. My friend’s wife has died. My friend had a road accident 20 years ago. And after that he is using a wheelchair. His wife is the one supporting him all the time for everything. He has lost that support. It is very, very sad.”
Thread: "I am Mahmood Kahn, I am a captain of a ship. We were on our way here to Christchurch from Auckland and arrived at 1am this morning. I went straight to the mosque. I am just so very sad, we are all very sad. I needed to immediately go there and pay my respects." pic.twitter.com/uJNV9q7MHI
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) March 17, 2019
Updated
Man drives car into mosque gates in Australia
A 23-year old Queensland man has been arrested after he allegedly drove his car into the gates of a mosque and shouted offensive words at worshippers inside on Saturday.
Queensland police allege the man drove his car into the gates of the Baitul Masroor Mosque at Stockleigh, near Brisbane.
Earlier that day, he had been pulled over by police and failed a roadside drug test. He was issued with a 24-hour suspension of his license, returned to his car, and then drove to the mosque where he damaged the front gates and shouted at the people inside, police allege.
The man, who was from Browns Plains, was charged with wilful damage, committing a public nuisance and driving a motor vehicle while suspended. He has been issued with a notice to appear in court.
Updated
The New Zealand Herald has published a 12-second video of the moment the suspected Christchurch shooter was arrested by police officers.
Three police officers can be seen standing over a man laying on his back on the footpath. An officer drags him towards a second police car, before turning the suspect on to his stomach. The suspect, in handcuffs, appears motionless throughout.
Updated
Shonny Jones, 17 is with three friends at Hagley Park, holding signs that read “free hugs” and “we are one”. They are headed to the makeshift memorials, with flowers and cards still piling up.
“Some terrible things have happened lately and we need to spread positivity and get it out there. We can get through this and we are going to be OK,” Jones says.
These gorgeous kids are headed to the memorial sites to support the Muslim community pic.twitter.com/F3dXfLzXiO
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) March 16, 2019
Updated
Police in Queensland have arrested a man after he drove his car into the gates of a mosque south of Brisbane overnight.
Police allege that at 2.20pm on Saturday a 23-year-old man was stopped for a roadside drug test and was given a 24-hour driver’s licence suspension notice after he returned a positive result.
But police say that once the man was released from custody, he returned to his car and drove it into the front gates of the Baitul Masroor mosque in Stockleigh, south of Brisbane.
Police allege the man caused “minor damage” to the gates and “shouted offensive words through the open driver’s window towards the people inside, before driving home where he was located by police”.
He was arrested and further charged with one count each of wilful damage, committing public nuisance and driving a motor vehicle while suspended.
Updated
A few of the front pages from Christchurch, Australia and London today.
Christchurch front pages 😔 pic.twitter.com/ImwV4C734H
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) March 16, 2019
#Frontpages 🗞 Sunday @dailytelegraph pic.twitter.com/6nMM1XCyox
— John (@John_Hanna) March 16, 2019
#Frontpages 🗞 Sunday @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/hB4w9glW0K
— John (@John_Hanna) March 16, 2019
#Frontpages 🗞 Sunday @smh pic.twitter.com/NGhZNhhBxY
— John (@John_Hanna) March 16, 2019
The front page of The Sunday Telegraph: 'May begs 'patriotic' MPs to back deal' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Ot0elx6URL
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 16, 2019
Jacinda Ardern placed a wreath at the Kilbirnie mosque in Wellington a little while ago.
The crowd gathered at the mosque sang a Te Reo rendition of Hallelujah, per the New Zealand Herald. The prime minister embraced a crying man at the top of the steps before going inside the mosque to meet with Muslim community members.
Updated
At Christchurch hospital, the founder and chair of the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre, Ahmed Tani, has not slept for days. His phone won’t stop ringing and family members of the dead and injured approach him outside of the hospital for support.
“I’m frightened and they are frightened,” he tells Guardian Australia. “They never thought something would happen like this and that’s why everyone is still afraid. Some of the community, yes, are frustrated. But the frustration they have is more that they don’t know where to go or what to do at first. Now that’s turning into gratefulness for the great support. The public, the New Zealand society, they have stood up to support [us]. And that has relieved a lot of their frustration.”
Tani has barely had time to grieve the loss of many of his friends. He has been too busy supporting others.
“One of my friends, he had an appointment to come to my office. I was working to help him find housing,” he says. “He passed away. I knew him well. And I feel so sad when I heard that news. He had been in NZ since 1985.”
While interpretation of Islamic law regarding burials varies, burying a person as soon as possible after death is a fundamental principal of Islam, usually no more than 24 hours later. But families have not been given any indication from police as to when bodies will be released to them, and their unease is mounting.
But Tani said most of them did understand: “This situation is different.”
“It is a criminal situation,” he said. “We Muslims have to understand that and they do. When a Muslim dies normally, yes, 24 hours [is ideal for burial]. But this is something different. The community, they have no choice, this is a criminal issue and the government has to check everything. It’s a process. And the government has communicated that process.”
He said that the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, had eased many of the frustrations.
“Jacinda Ardern came to my office,” he said. “She is a wonderful prime minister, very lovely. And parliamentarians. Labour, National, Greens, they are actually uniting to unite us. They are real in understanding us. The leadership, though, of our Jacinda… great and I appreciate that. I will also not forget our wonderful Christchurch city mayor, Leanne Diezel, she stands behind the communities and she is a wonderful leader and mayor of Christchurch. I feel the Christchurch city council stands behind us as well. And then, on top of that, the people. The people are very, very lovely.”
Updated
Who was Brenton Tarrant? Ben Smee has filed this piece from the town of Grafton, in northern New South Wales, where the suspected gunman grew up. Few could point to little other than a normal upbringing, Ben writes.
“He [Tarrant] was certainly introverted, quiet,” a family friend said. “He could get really focused on things, like the gym. But I didn’t really think he was political or anything like that. When you think back, he did travel alone for a long, long time.”
Updated
Robertson confirms an additional person who has entered intensive care since yesterday:
There’s an additional person who’s had further operative surgery and has come back to the intensive care unit. It’s a fairly fluid situation depending on where we think the patient is best managed. This stretches a lot of our resources. If we think they are in abetter situation or better managed in an intensive care location, that’s where they will go.
Updated
Robertson is being asked about the reaction of the staff at the hospital: “horror, stunned, anger,” he says.
It’s a bit challenging for people. You know, we’re all part of the community and we’re struggling with it as much as everyone else. This is not something that we expected to see in our environment. We do see gunshot wounds. We do see all these type of injuries, but, you know, 40 or 50 people in a day is more than what we should see ... Most people cope with things pretty well when you’re doing things. It’s when you go home and you think about it that that’s when the issues start to declare themselves.
Updated
Greg Robertson, Christchurch hospital’s head of surgery, is speaking to media now. He says another patient is expected to go home today.
There are 12 patients currently in the intensive care unit in a critical condition. We are expecting some discharges from the intensive care to the surgical wards today. In addition there is the young girl in Starship hospital. Her condition is still listed as critical.
He says there are two other children in the hospital in Christchurch in a stable condition.
Updated
Founder and chair of the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre Ahmed Tani has just spoken to @GuardianAus. Thread: he says: "Jacinda Ardern came to my office. She is a wonderful prime minister, very lovely. And parliamentarians." pic.twitter.com/239VTIg6rZ
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) March 16, 2019
Updated
The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, will lay a wreath at the Kilbirnie Mosque in Wellington with the city’s mayor, Justin Lester, shortly. It will be followed by a meeting with Islamic community leaders.
Ardern is also due to hold a press conference at 4pm.
Updated
Protesters stage symbolic funeral in Istanbul
Hundreds of protesters held a symbolic funeral in Istanbul on Saturday to mourn the victims of the two New Zealand mosque shootings, AFP reports.
The suspected gunman charged over the attack in Christchurch published a document online that Turkish media said contained specific references to Turkey.
On Saturday around 500 protesters gathered outside the Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum but was once a church before being turned into a mosque during the Ottoman empire.
The crowds of mainly nationalist and Islamic groups unfurled banners that read “Muslims, stand tall!” and “Muslims, unite!” and conducted a short prayer service for the victims.
“Everyone is aware of the rising Islamophobia all over the world; assailants find the courage to launch such attacks because of Muslims’ timidity,” said Faruk Hanedar, one of the demonstrators.
“We are here to show Muslims are able to respond to them with a smart attitude,” he added.
The Friday attacks on worshippers are thought to be the worst act of terror against Muslims in the West and have sparked an outpouring of grief and horror across the globe.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday condemned the murders, saying that hostility towards Islam was spreading in western countries “like a cancer”.
“With this attack, hostility towards Islam, that the world has been idly watching and even encouraging for some time, has gone beyond individual harassment to reach the level of mass killing,” Erdogan said.
Updated
This morning outside the entrance to Hagley College, police armed with rifles have implemented a “zone of respect”; stretching 100 meters either side of the college and 60 meters across.
The zone or “boundary” of respect is sacred, a volunteer told the Guardian, and media and members of the public are being politely asked not to enter it, and allow the families peace and privacy, following complaints from grieving families that they were being “hounded” by the press.
Young Muslim men who have flown in from other parts of New Zealand are also standing guard outside the college, their eyes downcast, their demeanour sombre.
Thick red textas have been used to scrawl ‘Security’ on their fluro vests, now sodden through as the rain continues to fall.
The New Zealand high commissioner in Canberra, Dame Annette King, has just spoken about the Christchurch terror attack.
King:
We want to express our deep sympathy, our sorrow and our aroha to the families, the people of Christchurch and those back home in New Zealand. Like many around the world we are shocked at what happened in Christchurch on Friday, because it was an unprecedented act of cowardly, unprovoked violence against innocent people including children who were at a place of worship and peace. As we heard this morning, the death toll is now 50.
These attack have affected us deeply, they have affected our migrant communities, Kiwis young and old ... Because we do see it as an assault on our home, on our way of life, on us. Those who do make New Zealand home – they are us. And as the prime minister [Jacinda Ardern] said: this is not who we are.
But it’s not who Australia or Australians are either. The outpouring of support and sympathy and solidarity, affection and acts of kindness from our Australian mates has been just fantastic.”
Asked how the Christchurch massacre could do anything other than harm relations between the two countries given the nationality of the alleged perpetrator, King replied: “Because he does not represent Australia, he does not represent New Zealand, he is an individual and that is how we see it.”
Asked about the political rhetoric of senator Fraser Anning after the attack, King said his views are “atrocious and we reject them absolutely”.
“We condemn what he said, and I’m absolutely delighted that his comments were condemned, from the very top of government here in Australia and [by] the people of Australia.”
Updated
Amid a steady downpour in Christchurch, a medical helicopter landed on a school sports oval on Sunday morning, where an ambulance was waiting. A patient was unloaded from the helicopter into the waiting ambulance, and what appeared to be a body was uploaded and taken away into the grey, darkening skies.
The tree-lined Hagley Avenue between Christchurch hospital, where 11 people remain in critical care, and Hagley College, where families search for loved ones and gather to swap news, has become the epicentre of the crisis as grieving families enter day three, and are still unable to claim their dead for burial. Despite the downpour the Muslim community is gathered under sopping trees and on park benches, and a bevvy of television cameras and media remain in place, their lenses pointed towards the doors of the hospital as the death toll from Friday’s attack continues to climb.
Updated
The Catholic archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has put out a statement in support of the victims in Christchurch.
Fisher will attend an interfaith service at St Mary’s in Sydney along with the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, on Sunday. He said Catholics “must also stand united with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and people of all faiths, in our commitment to peace”.
“Today we commit to something better,” Fisher said.
“That where there is grief we will bring consolation; where there is horror, we will sow trust; where there is despair, we will offer hope.”
Updated
New Zealand high commissioner praises the "sympathy and solidarity" of Australian mates. Re perpetraitors: "they are not us, they are not Australia either". #auspol @mmcgowan #ChristChurch pic.twitter.com/zS9boqbPl3
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) March 16, 2019
The Sunday Times in the UK is reporting that security agency MI5 is leading an inquiry into the suspected shooter’s possible links to Britain.
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush also said on Sunday morning that another person has been taken into custody, though he’s not believed to be linked to the attack.
I can also confirm that due to evidence collected during the investigation we have taken another person into custody. There is no information to suggest this person is linked to the attacks. Enquiries are ongoing in relation to this person and we will update you when we are able.
New Zealand Police have confirmed they conducted a search of a property in Dunedin this morning, the city were Tarrant lived.
“A number of items of interest were located however no items that would present harm to members of the public were discovered.”
The search of a property in Somerville Street, Dunedin, has now completed.
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 16, 2019
A number of items of interest were located however no items that would present harm to members of the public were discovered.
Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, will join politicians and religious figures, including the Grand Mufti of Australia, at a Sydney cathedral for an interfaith prayer for the victims of the Christchurch massacre on Sunday.
Members of the public “from any denomination” have been invited to pray alongside Morrison, Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, the New Zealand consul-general to Australia, Bill Dobbie.
Sunday is National Mosque Open Day in Australia and mosques will open their doors to visitors of all faiths.
Australian National Imams Council spokesman Bilal Rauf said he hoped people were not deterred from National Mosque Open Day on Sunday, as avoiding such celebrations would mean “in a sense, the terrorists won”.
The sails of the Opera House were also lit up on Saturday night with New Zealand’s silver fern.
Updated
We’re learning more about the victims of Friday’s terrible shooting. The places where they or their parents had started their lives included India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine and Fiji.
The first to be formally identified was Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old who left his home in Afghanistan more than four decades ago. His son Omar said his father had described New Zealand as “a slice of paradise”.
Hi, and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the fallout from Friday’s mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.
- New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush confirmed on Sunday that the death toll from Friday’s mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch had risen to 50.
- Another 50 were injured in the attack, 36 of whom remained in hospital, including one child.
- On Saturday, Brenton Tarrant, an Australian, appeared in court charged with one count of murder. He will remain in custody until April 5, and is expected to face further charges.
- New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday that the country would ban semi-automatic rifles.
- Two other people, a man and a woman, arrested soon after the shootings were not linked to the gunman
- Bush said heightened security around mosques in New Zealand would “continue until we believe there is no threat”.
Updated
