We’re going to wrap up the blog. Thank you for following along. Here’s what has happened today:
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The first burials of victims have been held today in Christchurch, five days after the attacks in which 50 people were killed. Thirteen bodies were released by Wednesday afternoon and most of the bodies will be released by Wednesday evening, said police. At a press conference Jacinda Ardern said she “shared the frustration” of the families who had not been able to bury their loved ones.
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Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has visited Cashmere high school, where she was greeted by a Haka performed by pupils. She assured the students “It’s OK to grieve” and encouraged them to call or text the 1737 number if they need support. Two Cashmere high school students and one former student died in the attacks.
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Twenty-nine people are still in Christchurch hospital. Eight people remain in a critical condition in intensive care. The four-year-old girl is still in a critical condition in Starship Hospital in Auckland. Her father is near her in Auckland City Hospital and his condition has improved.
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Ardern announced that two minutes of silence will be held on Friday to mark the event and the call to prayer will be broadcast on TVNZ and Radio NZ. A memorial service will be held, she confirmed, but the date has not been announced.
- Jacinda Ardern reiterated her concerns about New Zealand’s gun laws, saying there were “massive loopholes” that needed to be addressed, adding that these would be addressed by new legislation that her cabinet was currently working on.
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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said people with anti-Muslim sentiment will return home in coffins like their grandfathers, a reference to Anzac soldiers. Comments Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said were “deeply offensive”. Jacinda Ardern refused to comment on Erdogan’s comments, saying that New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters was en route to Turkey and would have the conversation “face to face”.
- New Zealanders have begun handing in their firearms to police. As of Tuesday night, at least 37 had been handed in.
A city mourns – the first funerals in Christchurch
Reuters have this interview with Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was killed in the attack.
Husna arrived in New Zealand aged 19, arriving from Bangladesh on her wedding day. Waiting to meet her was Farid, the man she would marry in a few hours, as their families had agreed.
A quarter of a century later, the life they had built together was torn apart at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch when a gunman walked into the building, firing on worshippers at Friday prayers.
Husna encountered the gunman on his way out of the mosque. He shot her on the footpath. She fell and he fired two more shots, killing her instantly.
Farid managed to escape when he heard the shooting begin, returning when the gunman left, to find many of his friends and community members dead, and comfort those who were dying.
Farid found out about his wife’s death when a detective he knew called his niece as they waited outside the mosque.
She passed the phone: “I don’t want you to wait the whole night, Farid. Go home, she will not come,” Farid said the detective told him.
“At the moment I hear that, my response was I felt numb,” Farid told Reuters. “I had tears but I didn’t break down.” His niece crumbled.
Based on what eyewitnesses told him, Farid said instead of hiding, Husna helped women and children inside the mosque and ran to the front of the building to look for him.
“She’s such a person who always put other people first and she was even not afraid to give her life saving other people,” Farid said. He also had this message for his wife’s killer.
“I have no grudge against you, I never hated you, I will never hate you.”
The ABC’s Indonesia correspondent has this report of Winston Peters’ visit to Indonesia.
In comments to Indonesian media, NZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters makes it clear it was not a New Zealander who committed the #Christchurch terrorist attack pic.twitter.com/krsaQ9clCr
— David Lipson (@davidlipson) March 20, 2019
A vascular surgeon who operated on a four-year-old girl who was critically injured in Friday’s Mosque attack wept while describing her condition to reporters in Christchurch on Wednesday afternoon.
Dr Adib Khanafer, known in typical Kiwi fashion as Eddie, said he was completing another surgery when he was told he was needed in an emergency operation.
Speaking through tears, Khanafer said he was “really sad to see a young girl on the table with vascular injury” but that repairing her injury was a “highlight of my career.”
“I have four kids,” Khanafer said. “The youngest is 7, the oldest is 14, and I just imagine this was one of my kids. I was able to do my job and I left my emotions until after… after I had repaired her.
“I am from England. I am a Muslim. And I am Arab. And all my colleagues, Kiwis, have not stopped emailing me, texting me, and sending me flowers.”
The girl was transferred to Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland on Friday night, and her father, who was also in intensive care, was transferred to another hospital in Auckland on Saturday.
Dr Dominic Fleischer, who was the lead clinician in the emergency department on Friday, said he did not expect to see a traumatic event like this in Christchurch.
“I still expect the next big earthquake, but nothing like this,” he said.
Fleischer said that only one of the 48 people who made it to hospital died after arrival. He commended all hospital staff for ensuring that patients received the best care available.
“We never ran out of trauma teams,” he said. “No patient waited to be seen… everyone was seen as soon as they got to us.”
Jacinda Ardern visits first responders - in pictures
Updated
A man accused of sharing video of a massacre in New Zealand has been jailed by a judge until his next court appearance in mid-April.
Philip Arps, 44, appeared in a Christchurch court Wednesday on two charges of distributing the killer’s livestream video of last week’s attack on Al Noor mosque, a violation of the country’s objectionable publications law. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Arps, heavily tattooed and dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, hasn’t entered a plea. He remained expressionless during the hearing, his hands clasped behind his back.
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll denied him bail.
Charging documents accuse Arps of distributing the video on Saturday, one day after the massacre.
Arps owns a Christchurch business that had company vans emblazoned with neo-Nazi references.
A few more responses from that press conference.
Ardern said that police officers, including the armed offenders squad, were the first to administer first aid to the victims. “You can imagine what they walked into,” said Ardern. “They had to secure an environment for StJohn’s to be able to enter into, first.”
She also said that police response times to the incident and the time it took police to arrest the suspect were even faster than we have been told.
While Ardern said racism and extremism needed to be addressed in New Zealand and the rest of the world to stop another incident like this ever happening again, she repeatedly rejected suggestions that she has a duty to lead the world in the fight against the alt-right and extremism. Ardern says her first priority is New Zealand and caring for her people.
New Zealand journalist Toby Manhire urgently wants some answers from Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s role in the Christchurch tragedy. In an opinion piece – that first ran on the Spinoff – he writes:
“More than four days on, then, the $64 billion question (that’s how much Mr Zuckerberg is reportedly worth) is this: what do you have to say for yourself, Mark? Seems you’re busy, and instead have dispatched an underling to do the thoughts-and-prayers and “committed to countering hate speech and the threat of terrorism online”. Sitting here in New Zealand, that’s nowhere near good enough.”
You can read the piece in full here:
Jacinda Ardern on her personal reaction to the tragedy
Ardern was asked several times about her personal response to the tragic events. She deflected a lot of the questions, seeming not to want to go into much detail on the subject.
Journalist: Prime Minister, yesterday in your speech you talked about you never thought you would be a voice for a nation’s grief. I’m wondering, we’ve seen you obviously at these news conferences, you present a very strong front. As a human being, as a mother, can you tell us maybe one moment of this since Friday that has just been very, very difficult for you, or you had difficulty dealing with it?
Ardern: I can’t tell you just one because, actually, there have been too many.
Journalist: Can you describe some of these moments that have just touched your heart for us?
Ardern: Everyone in New Zealand and internationally is reading the same stories I read. And my response is no different. Yes, I have a role I need to play. I feel the grief, I hear the grief. But I also have a duty of care to the people involved in this to also keep going. And so if the imam who stood at the front of a mosque and saw firsthand the loss of his worshippers in front of him can keep going, then I definitely can.
Later on in the press conference she was pressed again.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you mentioned that that at the high school this morning you were very sad. How are you fortifying yourself?
Ardern: As I said, if the imam who stood at the front and watched his friends and fellow worshippers continue on, then I absolutely can. I fortify myself by knowing I have a duty of care and a job to do.
Journalist: Is this the toughest thing you have ever had to face?
Ardern: Yes.
Jacinda Ardern's comments on gun control
Journalist: On the issue of gun control, do you have anymore details on where that stands? Also, do you see whatever New Zealand has done as a blueprint to follow suit?
Ardern: “One thing I have to acknowledge is relative to other countries, not picking any one in particular, we have a large number of loopholes in our laws. Many New Zealanders would be astounded to know you can access military-style semiautomatics that you can here.
“My hope is that going forward, we will - we will - demonstrate what you can do if your starting point is similar to ours. We do have a road to travel though and I’ll be announcing further details very, very soon.”
Journalist: Can you give us a sense of what’s happening behind the scenes? What has to happen before Monday and then before the end of next week to get the changes you want pushed through?
Ardern: “Just to give you a flavour, even in terms of the preparation that needed to occur before we met as a cabinet, these attacks, this terrorist attack, occurred on Friday. By Monday, as a result of, literally, policy workers working through the night, we had proposals for cabinet.
“Decisions were made and now those same individuals are working incredibly hard to work through the detail of what is required to make that a reality.
“I reflect, again, Australia, when they experienced a tragedy, a mass shooting in the 1990s, it took them 12 days. We will do it in less but only through extraordinary effort.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the NRA is reported to be involved in coming into New Zealand to lobby and be of influence in the process of the conversation around gun control. Can you confirm it for one thing and do you have any concern?
Ardern: “No, I haven’t heard that, actually. But, do you know, I think - I’ve said from the very outset, that it is my belief that those who are currently the holders of both gun licences and guns, I believe they will be with us.
“I’ve already seen some commentary from individuals who are gun holders and gun - hold gun licences that very much indicate that they absolutely acknowledge something needs to change.
“Now, again, you know, there is legitimate gun use in New Zealand and we absolutely acknowledge that, but I would say almost all New Zealanders, except perhaps those who use them, will acknowledge that there isn’t and should not be a place for military-style semiautomatics.
Updated
Jacinda Ardern's comments on Turkey
Ardern was asked several questions about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comments, in which the Turkish president said people coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim views would be sent back in coffins like their grandfathers – a reference to the battle of Gallipoli in the first world war.
Ardern’s deputy prime minister Winston Peters is travelling to Turkey to discuss the subject with Turkey’s leaders.
Journalist: Is it appropriate for our Foreign Minister to be travelling at the time given the comments made by President Erdogan?
Ardern: As I’ve said, he is going there to set the record straight. That is an opportunity that he should take up. Now, we have to make sure that what is reflected is an accurate portrayal of New Zealand and New Zealanders. Indeed, of our Muslim community as well. And that is his intent.
Asked if she shared Australian prime minister Scott Morrison’s views that the comments were “deeply upsetting”, Ardern said: “As I said, our Deputy Prime Minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey. We had a delegation from the Turkish Government to bring a message of solidarity to New Zealand and to those affected by the attack.”
Later in the press conference a journalist returned to the subject, saying: “You must be offended that this is being used as a political tool in Turkey?”
She says:
I do not accept - I do not accept - that we will see the long-term change in our relationship. It is so deeply entrenched. They cared for our fallen. Hundreds and thousands of New Zealanders have made pilgrimages to that place as an acknowledgement of what ties and binds our countries. And so I reject the idea that we are losing that relationship, or will lose that relationship. But for now, you’ll appreciate that given that my Deputy Prime Minister is travelling there, that, actually, where this conversation will happen will be face-to-face.
And the press conference is over. We’ll have some key quotes from it shortly.
A journalist asks if this is the toughest thing Ardern has ever had to face.
She replies: “Yes.”
Jacinda Ardern says they need to ensure they create an environment where racist ideology cannot flourish and that is something she will put her mind to in coming months.
Ardern says that there will be gun control measures introduced in light of the attack, saying “there is no place for military-style semi-automatic weapons in New Zealand”.
She also says that she thinks gun owners in New Zealand will support the measures.
A journalist is pushing Ardern on the Turkish president’s comments, saying she “must be offended” by Erdogan’s comments.
Ardern says she “does not accept” that the nature of the relationship between New Zealand and Turkey has changed, given that Turkey holds our fallen and thousands of New Zealanders have made pilgrimages to the country.
She will not be drawn on Erdogan’s comments, saying that her deputy prime minister Winston Peters is on his way to Turkey and “this conversation is one that will happen face to face”.
Jacinda Ardern says that New Zealand has failings in its laws that need to be addressed in the wake of the attack.
Ardern says New Zealand has been a “blueprint of what not to do” in regards to lax gun control and these loopholes will be addressed, she says.
Ardern also says that reviews will need to occur of security services, and that the security services themselves have asked for these reviews.
Ardern says that alt-right groups were on the radar in New Zealand but the killer was missed.
“There is grief in New Zealand but there is also anger,” she says.
A journalist has asked Jacinda Ardern how she is coping personally and to share one moment that has affected her personally “as a human, as a mother”.
Ardern declines to pick one moment, saying there are many. She says she has a duty to keep going and to lead her people. Ardern says that she has taken strength from watching local imams who continued leading their communities at a time of profound grief.
'I cannot tell you how gutting it is'- Ardern comments on Syrian refugees killed in the attack
A journalist asks: “Prime Minister, a few hours ago a father and son from Syria, refugees to this country, were buried, the first people to be buried in Christchurch. How does it make your feel that people who came here, to seek refuge, they’ve ended up dying this this most horrific way?”
Ardern replies:
It was actually one of the things that I was told quite early on. When I was being briefed on some of the, you know, the atrocious stories, one of the things that was shared with me was that a family affected were Syrian refugees. I cannot tell you how gutting it is to know that a family came here for safety and for refuge, and they should have been safe here.
You will see that, you know, amongst New Zealanders on social media, one of the - one of the images and accompanying words that has spread the most has been that this was their home and they should have been safe here.
Ardern says the fact that the alleged killer came from Australia does not taint the trans-Tasman relationship or reflect more widely on Australia or the country, and says she knows people in Australia are wrestling with questions about what it means for their country that the alleged killer came from Australia.
Ardern is asked what she thinks about the frustration felt by the families of victims at the speed that the bodies are being returned to their families for burial.
“It’s a frustration that I share,” says Ardern. “I have had an update that we have had 13 bodies now ready for release to family members.”
But she adds: “I have seen the people working on this process and they are working incredibly hard.”
Ardern says there are “lessons to learn” and that in the aftermath they will be reviewing how to return bodies more quickly.
Ardern says ever since she heard that the attack involved people of Muslim faith, she says “My concern about the 24-hour burial period has been top of my mind.”
Ardern has been asked if Donald Trump should have said more and reflected New Zealand’s position. She deflects the question and said her focus was on the local community and she cannot control the rhetoric of other leaders.
Ardern deflects question about Islamic State threats
Ardern deflects a question about how concerned New Zealanders should be about threats from Islamic State and calls for retaliatory attacks against New Zealand.
Ardern says she has not heard language of retaliation from the local Musliam community, saying their response has been “completely counter” to some of the rhetoric used by Islamic State, the Taliban and others.
Two minutes of silence and national broadcast of call to prayer to be held on Friday
Ardern says there is a desire to mark the attack and honour the victims and to support Muslim brothers and sisters in New Zealand. In light of that there will be two minutes of silence held on Friday and the call to prayer will be broadcast on TVNZ and Radio NZ.
Jacinda Ardern discussed today with council and community leaders the future memorial service for the victims of the attack. She says planning continues for the memorial, which will be held in Christchurch, but no date has been set for the event.
Ardern is speaking to the media after her morning of meetings with people in Christchurch.
'People who weren't rostered on just appeared' - hospital staff describe afternoon of attacks
Staff at the Christchurch hospital have explained what happened on the afternoon of the mosque attacks.
Senior staff were in a meeting and called out when the emergency department activated its major incident protocols - which means five or more patients are coming in from one incident.
Nursing clinical manager Tracey Williams said they had 48 admissions within an hour. Within two and a half, she says “most patients were where they needed to be.”
The police cordon made it slightly difficult for some on the afternoon shift to get through, but Williams said the hospital was able to cope because the shooting was on a weekday and at a crossover between morning and afternoon shift - a lot of staff around.
Others who weren’t rostered on just turned up, as they did after the 2011 Earthquake. “People who weren’t at work just appeared.”
Williams: “The lockdown was unusual, the police locked us down and the department and we were very keen to let our staff go home... but it’s been very reassuring to have the police presence ongoing.”
Williams said there were more patients in the earthquake - 400 over 24 hours - but more all at once on Friday - 48 in under an hour.
By mid afternoon they had 13 patients in ICU. They also almost ran out of supplies - a woman named Renee from Allied Health drove through the police cordon to restock antibiotics and other supplies. Social workers also came in to support relatives so nursing staff were free.
The head of ICU nursing said: “Some of the patients have required two nurses to one patient because of the complexity of the care…. The staff have stepped up, they have done immensely well, I could not be more proud.”
There are currently 20 shooting victims in the surgical ward, “many of whom are requiring multiple returns to theatre,” said the director of surgical nursing.
Updated
Samir Harith, a Muslim New Zealander who works at the University of Waikato has written a guide for non-Muslim Kiwis to support their Muslim friends and neighbours.
He writes:
So many of my non-Muslim friends have asked me what they can do to help the Muslim community here in NZ in light of Friday’s Tragedy. Lots of good meaning souls out there and its the biggest reason why I love NZ so much. So for those of you who want to do something, here are some pointers:
BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT:
1. Physical contact - Yes, it’s normal for us Kiwis to hug and embrace with each other on any occasion, but for most Muslims, physical contact with members of the opposite gender is taboo. Hugs, handshakes and embraces with members of the same gender is fine, but if you wish to express your condolences to a Muslim individual of an opposite gender, a simple hand over heart gesture is fine.
2. Donating food to mosques - A great idea! However, unless you are familiar with what constitutes ‘Halal’ (permissible) food, I would advise not to donate food to mosques. While they will definitely appreciate your contribution, if they suspect that the food is non-halal it will likely go to waste. If you wish to learn more about what Halal food is, please talk to your local mosque leaders.
3. Attending funerals/grieving with Muslims - Muslims are famous for being completely efficient with burying and grieving our dead. Generally speaking, fallen Muslims are usually buried and grieved within the day (hence the frustration when our loved ones aren’t able to be buried on time). So no, you probably won’t have a chance to grieve with us simply because our grieving is a very private, efficient affair.
Now that you know that, what you CAN do is really easy:
1. Spread the word and share your solidarity with not just Muslims but all Kiwis, because all of us, as a country are affected by this tragedy. Spread the love and Aroha people!
2. Call out hate speech wherever you hear/see it. I can’t stress this enough. No matter how small, no matter how innocuous it sounds, call it out and tell people to cut out that shit.
3. Attend vigils organised by your local mosque and/or other religious organisations. This tragedy has brought out the best in us as it stretches across a different multitude of faiths. If you want to show your support - there is a great place to do it.
He also encourages people not to share images/videos of the man who committed teh attacks or perpetrate racial hate and division. He also cautioned fellow Muslims reading this post, not to make any statements disparaging Westerners because of the violent acts of one person, writing “you don’t like them doing that to us, don’t do it to them.”
Christchurch pupils perform haka for Jacinda Ardern – video
Funerals for the first of the 50 victims whose bodies have been returned to their families have begun at Christchurch’s Memorial Park Cemetery.
Among the first to be buried were father and son Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, who were killed at Al Noor mosque. Both came to New Zealand as Syrian refugees.
Hamza, 16, was a year 10 student at Cashmere High School. Principal Mark Wilson earlier described him as excellent horse rider who wanted to be a veterinarian.
As of midday on Wednesday 27 bodies had been formally identified and 12 had been released for burial. Some will then make the long journey home to be buried with family overseas.
Ardern and the first responders have now left for a private gathering where they will share some “lamingtons, fruit, biscuits and juice” and talk in private, which feels very, appropriately Kiwi.
The prime minister’s press conference has been pushed back to 3pm (about 40 minutes from now).
Ardern has said she hoped to meet first responders in a small room and share some lamingtons. The prime minister looks extremely moved, and said she watched their work in real-time. "I have no doubt that you saved lives - thank you for doing what you do on our darkest days"
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 20, 2019
Jacinda Ardern has arrived at the emergency precinct in Christchurch and is shaking the hands of St John’s first responder staff.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has just held a press conference to deal with one particularly unedifying bit of fallout from the Christchurch terror attacks – comments by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that anyone who comes to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back in coffins, “like their grandfathers were” during the Gallipoli campaign.
Morrison warned that “all options are on the table” due to the offensive remarks and Australia will review its travel advisory for Turkey, a threat that could see Australians directed not to travel to Turkey for Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli, attended by thousands every year on 25 April.
Morrison said he did not accept the Turkish ambassador’s “excuses” that the comments were “in the heat of the moment … in an electoral context”.
In election rallies, Erdoğan has repeatedly shown excerpts of a video taken by the attacker who killed 50 people in mosques in New Zealand, to denounce what he called rising hatred and prejudice against Islam.
Morrison said:
I believe the comments also completely misrepresent the very strong position taken by the Australian and New Zealand governments in our response to the extremist attack in New Zealand that was committed by an Australian, but in no way, shape, or form, could possibly be taken to represent the actions, or any policy or view of the Australian people.
All Australians have condemned it, as, indeed, I have, swiftly, and the New Zealand Prime Minister has.
But not only that, it has not just been our condemnation of that attack, but it has been our response, both as countries, who have an open, tolerant society, accepting of all faiths and peoples, that we have reached out to embrace our Muslim brothers and sisters in New Zealand and in Australia, quite to the contrary of the vile assertion that has been made about our response.
The response of our free people in New Zealand and Australia, I think, is the message that needs to be communicated to the Turkish people, and I believe is a view respected by the people of Turkey and certainly by Turkish Australians.”
Morrison walked a fine line, claiming that he wants to de-escalate the situation and calling for the comments to be withdrawn, while also threatening possible consequences if they are not. Whether this has the desired effect or plays into Erdoğan’s hands remains to be seen.
Eleanor Ainge Roy has written this profile of Jacinda Ardern, a leader of “solace and steel”, who has risen to the occasion of leading her country through one of its darkest days.
By Saturday morning she was on the ground in Christchurch with the majority of her cabinet ministers and opposition leaders. Dressed in a black headscarf trimmed with gold, the prime minister met with members of the Muslim community affected by the tragedy. She held them in her arms as they sobbed, whispering words of condolence, and pressing her cheek against theirs. Video footage of those embraces travelled around the world.
Walking hand in hand with those affected, Ardern’s focus was on grieving and commiserating with the affected community. The alleged killer Brenton Tarrant was not representative of New Zealanders’ values and beliefs, she said. Quite simply he was: “Not us”.
Paul Buchanan, a security expert for 36th Parallel, says Ardern’s strength was her empathy, and she has “excelled” in this arena during a time of crisis.
“The way Trump and others talk, tough talk, after terror attacks, all that is posturing. And sometimes it is designed to mask weakness, sometimes it is a thirst for revenge. Ardern is doing none of that.”
“It is a leadership style that particularly suits New Zealand. New Zealand does have a serious dark side, it does have racism. But what she is doing is giving us a moment to confront these demons, this darkness and change our ways.”
Updated
PM Jacinda Ardern will shortly meet first responders who were first on the scene during Friday's attack. Her meeting will occur meters from where the accused made his first appearance in court on Saturday morning. Later, the PM will hold a press conference.
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Eleanor Ainge Roy is at the emergency precinct in central Christchurch, which Jacinda Ardern is about to visit to meet with first responders. Ambulance staff, civil defence staff and some from the Muslim community are there waiting for the prime minister to arrive. We expect her any moment.
Five days after the mosque attacks familiar police and security faces are beginning to appear, working around the clock to protect the traumatised city. Despite the tension and the stress, security and police have remained utterly professional, friendly and warm – soothing the nerves of locals who aren’t used to seeing rifles on their quiet city streets.
During rigorous security checks for media to gain access to the prime minister’s press conference officers smile and joke with weary press, bolstering spirits as day six rolls on.
“Kia Kaha” an officer says. “Stay strong”.
Identity of some victims officially released by police
New Zealand police have started to release the names of the some of the victims. Police said they died at the Al Noor mosque:
Hati Mohemmed Doud Nabi, 71, of New Zealand.
Mohsen Mohammed Al Harbi, 63, of New Zealand.
Kamel Moh’d Kamal Kamel Darwish, 38, of Jordan.
Junaid Ismail, 36, of New Zealand.
Mucaad Ibrahim, 3, of New Zealand.
Commissioner Mike Bush said police had now formally identified and released the bodies of 21 people to family members.
"Hope and fear" - front page of the NZ Herald today: pic.twitter.com/38kpHlJVrB
— Bryce Edwards (@bryce_edwards) March 19, 2019
Front page of Christchurch paper The Press today. pic.twitter.com/pNHzbIExn3
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) March 19, 2019
Summary
- The first burials of victims are being held today in Christchurch, five days after the attacks in which 50 people were killed. Six bodies were released on Tuesday night and prepared for swift burial. Most of the bodies will be released by Wednesday evening, said police.
- Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has visited Cashmere high school, where she was greeted by a haka performed by pupils. She assured the students “It’s OK to grieve” and encouraged them to call or text the 1737 number if they need support. Two Cashmere high school students and one former student died in the attacks.
- Twenty-nine people are still in Christchurch hospital. Eight people remain in a critical condition in intensive care. The four-year-old girl is still in a critical condition in Starship Hospital in Auckland. Her father is near her in Auckland City Hospital and his condition has improved.
- New Zealanders have begun handing in their firearms to police. As of Tuesday night, at least 37 had been handed in.
- Australia has accused the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of making “deeply offensive” comments after he said anti-Muslim Australians will return home in coffins like their grandfathers
- New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush has said he is “alert” to the risk of reprisals in the wake of Erdoğan’s comments.
- The peak organisation for New Zealand’s hunting lobby, Fish and Game NZ, has called for a ban and buyback of military-style semi-automatic weapons in the wake of last week’s attack. Its chief executive, Martin Taylor, said: “They are designed for one thing only and that’s to kill people.”
New Zealanders have begun handing in their firearms to police in the wake of Friday’s mass shooting in Christchurch which resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people.
New Zealand police said that, as of Tuesday night, at least 37 firearms had been handed in to police officers around the country.
One of those who surrendered a firearm, was John Hart, who has a 20-hectare sheep and beef farm north of Masterton.
Hart handed in his semi-automatic rifle to police on Monday in the wake of the shootings.
Until today I was one of the New Zealanders who owned a semi-automatic rifle. On the farm they are a useful tool in some circumstances, but my convenience doesn’t outweigh the risk of misuse.
— John Hart (@farmgeek) March 18, 2019
We don’t need these in our country.
We have make sure it’s #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/crLCQrOuLc
“For me, it became that trade-off: is my convenience worth the risk to other people’s lives by having these guns in the country? I pretty quickly realised there was no comparison. We’ll cope without semi-automatic weapons, we won’t cope without the people who were taken from us from these events.”
“I recognise one person handing in a gun to the police is not going to change the world, but it’s a start, the country is now one gun safer than it was before,” he said.
The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand have released this statement, urging people not to equate extremism with mental illness. An excerpt of that statement is below.
Following Friday’s appalling terrorist attack, the Mental Health Foundation has been disappointed but unsurprised to see some people speculating the terrorist must have been mentally ill. We understand why it’s comforting to think this. We all want to think the terrorist is an outlier, an outsider, different to us. We want to try and understand this incomprehensible tragedy, to find a simple answer that helps to explain what happened, to make sense of the shooting.
But this answer is nothing but a fiction, and it’s one we must not hide behind if we are to heal from Friday’s terrible events. Shooting people is not a symptom of a mental illness. White supremacy is not a mental illness.
If we let mental illness be the scapegoat here, we let ourselves and our country off the hook from reckoning with the racism, white supremacy and anti-immigrant sentiments that directly led to these attacks. We distance ourselves from the terrorist and let ourselves dismiss him as a ‘lone wolf’...
People who live with serious mental health issues in New Zealand are already some of our most vulnerable people. Frequently the recipients of prejudice and discrimination, they continue to be misunderstood and incorrectly blamed for a disproportionate amount of violence in our communities. We say this so often that it starts to sound like white noise, but we think it bears repeating now: people with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of violence – in fact they are fourteen times more likely to be victims of violence than people who do not experience serious mental illness.
When you connect radical extremists with mental illness, you make it even harder for people with mental health issues to live in their own homes as members of their own communities. You make it harder for them to ask for help. You reinforce myths that they are violent and different, untrustworthy and unreliable. And you do it to make yourself feel better, not because it’s the truth.
Twenty-nine people still in hospital, 9 still in intensive care
Twenty-nine people who were injured in the mosque attacks are still in Christchurch Hospital, said David Meates, chief executive for the Canterbury District Health Board.
Two have been well enough to go home since our last media bulletin on Monday afternoon, and they are being supported by family and friends.
There are still eight people in a critical condition in intensive care. The four-year-old girl is still in a critical condition in Starship Hospital in Auckland. Her father is near her in Auckland City Hospital and his condition has improved so that he is no longer considered serious, and is now stable.
As yesterday and over the weekend, we are gearing all available theatres to follow-up acute surgery, which means we will be continuing to postpone planned surgeries for some time to come in order to free up theatre space and surgical teams. We apologise to anyone who may have their surgery postponed, but know they will understand the extraordinary circumstances.
Christchurch Hospital is busier than ever, but with many services operating as normally as possible. Most appointments at Christchurch Outpatients are going ahead as planned. If your appointment has to be postponed, we will contact you directly. We are prioritising the time of the clinicians needed to care for those injured in last Friday’s attack.
The peak organisation for New Zealand’s hunting lobby, Fish and Game NZ, has called for a ban and buyback of military-style semi-automatic weapons in the wake of the Christchurch attack.
Fish and Game NZ chief executive Martin Taylor told Radio NZ that there was no legitimate reason for people to own a military-style assault rifle, saying: “They are designed for one thing only and that’s to kill people.”
Taylor said military-style assault rifles should “never have been sold in New Zealand.”
He said the organisation would also support a limitation on the sale of high-capacity magazines, which could prevent people from illegally modifying a smaller capacity semi-automatic rifle into a military-style weapon.
Military-style semi-automatic firearms, or MSSAs, are already restricted in New Zealand to a “category E” firearm licence and are required to be registered. Other smaller-capacity semi-automatic rifles and shotguns are not required to be registered and may be held on a “category A” licence.
Taylor said it was the capacity of the weapon, not the semi-automatic action, that made it inappropriate.
“You want three or four shots maximum, that’s all you need,” he said. “You do not need a military spec weapon that can have 10 or 15 shots... You don’t need that for recreational hunting.”
The man charged over the Christchurch terror attack held a “category A” licence and police have suggested his arsenal included lower-capacity semi-automatic rifles that had been modified with a high capacity magazine.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern says her government will announce the detail of planned gun law reforms before Monday. Previous attempts at reform were derailed through the opposition of groups like Fish and Game, so their support will be critical.
Taylor told Radio NZ that hunters were “shocked” by the massacre and “willing to support reforms to ensure that we have clear gun laws.
“I think there is a way through this so that we can keep society safe, get rid of these military assault rifles that should never have been able to be sold in the first place, and at the same time recreational hunters can continue doing what they have been doing for 100 years in NZ, and safely,” he said.
First funerals held today
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush said this morning that 21 bodies had been formally identified last night and were ready to be released to families.
Six more will be ready by midday, the “majority” by the end of the day. He says in some cases the identification “will take longer”. Bush said that while experts wanted to release bodies quickly for the sake of families and because they were aware of the cultural reasons for swift burial, that they needed to identify bodies up to a standard that could go to the coroner.
Updated
Here’s that hug between Jacinda Ardern and a student at Cashmere high school, who ran up to the prime minister as she was about to leave the school, having addressed the students.
A tribute to Egg Boy, the 17-year-old who hit senator Fraser Anning in the head with an egg, has gone up on the side of the Gladstone Hotel in Chippendale in Sydney.
egg boy’s up at the Gladstone in Chippendale 🥚 pic.twitter.com/6CRBbms0JI
— steph harmon (@stephharmon) March 19, 2019
Eleanor Ainge Roy, who is at Cashmere high school in Christchurch, where Jacinda Ardern just spoke to students, has these photographs of pictures from the students.
"We are all leaves from the same tree" pic.twitter.com/A4iWPets4D
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
"We are Whanau (family)" at Cashmere High pic.twitter.com/3dBE3EV7hv
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
New Zealand “alert” to risk of reprisal attacks
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush told reporters in Christchurch earlier that he was aware of comments made by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan blaming New Zealand for the anti-Muslim attack and was “alert” to the risk of reprisals.
“We are taking care to be alert to all kinds of conversations and that will inform our deployment,” Bush said.
“What I can say at the moment most positively is there was only one attacker. The investigation focus is to work out if anyone else was involved in supporting or in any other way and we are still conducting that part of the investigation.”
Officers from the FBI, Australian Federal Police and New South Wales police are on the ground in New Zealand to assist with the investigation and determine whether the suspect in the attack received assistance either in NZ or overseas.
“We are also working very closely with other countries, other five eyes partners, in terms of cooperation around the profile and travels, etc, to build a comprehensive picture of this person that we will put before the court.”
Bush said he understood the frustration of the families of the 50 people killed in the attack and that authorities were working to release bodies as quickly as they could.
Six bodies were released to their families for burial last night and a total of 21 have been formally identified and ready for release. The majority are expected to be cleared for release by tonight, but Bush warned that some would take longer.
“We must prove for prosecution the cause of death to the satisfaction of the judge,” he told reporters. “You cannot convict for murder without proving that cause of death... to get it wrong is unforgivable and you cannot come back from that.”
Updated
Erdoğan says people coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim views would be sent back in coffins "like their grandfathers"
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the Turkish president’s warning that anti-Muslim Australians will return home in coffins like their grandfathers if they visit his country is “deeply offensive”.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said people coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim views would be sent back in coffins like their grandfathers – a reference to the battle of Gallipoli in the first world war – following the Christchurch mosque massacres.
“I find the comments deeply offensive but also unhelpful. I think it’s our job here not to escalate this. It’s our job to take the temperature down,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio on Wednesday.
Erdoğan also called on New Zealand to amend its laws to ensure that the attacker is severely punished. Erdogan said, “If New Zealand fails to hold the attacker accountable, one way or another we will hold him to account.”
He went on to criticise New Zealand and Australia for sending troops to Turkey in the first world war Gallipoli campaign, claiming their motive was anti-Islam-oriented.
Erdoğan has repeatedly shown video footage of the Christchurch mosque attacks to crowds at election rallies and said he would send home “in caskets” anyone attempting such an attack in Turkey, which he claimed was not the work of a lone gunman, comments that have elicited strong criticism from New Zealand.
The event has wrapped up and Jacinda Ardern has left the school. As she turned to go a small girl ran up and gave her a hug.
Just as the prime minister was leaving a tiny blonde school girl ran through the crowd and gave "Jacinda" a hug. New Zealand's PM hugged her back - prompting a large smile from the child @MsKateLyons
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Updated
“They sound scared,” is the assessment of our reporter on the ground at Cashmere high school, Eleanor Ainge Roy.
"Should we have known more about this attacker? Should we have known more about his plans. The main thing is we have to ensure this never, ever happens again". Students are very worried about why the alleged killer wasn't known or identified before the attack. They sound scared
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Students are asking when a memorial will be held. Ardern says there will be a national memorial day "really soon". Ardern is explaining the killer is australiam who has sporadically come to NZ. She is not referring to him by name
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
She indicated yesterday she never would again.
A student has asked about when gun laws will change. Ardern says they will announce details by Monday. Ardern is saying they will be introduced more swiftly than changes to Australian gun law after the port Arthur massacre.
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Ardern is explaining why the alleged killer has only had one charge against him. She says there will be "many, many more charges against him". Ardern is explaining why the country remains on high alert, but says there is no specific threat. @MsKateLyons
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Ardern has been asked how her government will stop another attack in the future. She says there are gaps on gun law. And work on social media, as well as an inquiry. @MsKateLyons
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
A number of students have tears in their eyes and there is silence in the school hall. Ardern is asking the students to reject racism. She is asking the students to help her by ensuring they show no tolerance for racism in New Zealand - ever.
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
A student has just asked the prime minister how she is. "How am I?" says Ardern. "I am very sad".
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
Ardern is now speaking about the challenges posed by social media. She says it can be a tool for good - asking students to raise their hands if they heard about the vigil in Hagley Park through social media – but also says it is a place where messages of hate and division can spread.
She tells students that she “alongside some of our international friends” will be looking into what can be done to stop this, but says she needs the help of the students to guard against messages of hatred and division as well.
“Never underestimate the power of just sending a message, looking out for someone, performing the haka,” says Ardern. “There is power in that, because you are sending a message of support.”
Ardern says that she is sure the students will feel as she does, that they want to make sure everyone feels safe, creating an environment where racism cannot exist.
“This is my request, I alone cannot get rid of those things, I need help from every single one of us, so yes, gather together, show those outpourings of love, but also let NZ be a place where there is no tolerance for racism ever. That’s something we can all do.”
Ardern says events like Friday’s attack are “completely alien to us” because New Zealand is a country of peace and diversity.
“I bring the support of a whole bunch of New Zealanders for those who have lost someone and you would have seen that support, I think.”
Ardern assures the students “It’s OK to grieve” and encourages them to call or text the 1737 number if they’re having a hard time.
“As New Zealanders we immediately want to do something to help, to contribute and make a difference... It’s why you’ve seen your school be offered cakes and funds to try and help the students affected,” she said.
Jacinda Ardern addresses students at Cashmere high school
Jacinda Ardern is speaking. She begins by addressing the school in Maori.
She says she is here to hear what it has been like for the students, in light of the losses their school sustained in the attacks. Two Cashmere high school students and one former student died in the attacks.
Ardern says that after she has finished speaking she will open up the event to any questions the students want to ask her.
Updated
Jacinda Ardern has arrived at Cashmere High School and is being greeted by a haka, performed by students in the school’s gym.
400 Cashere High Students have gathered to welcome the prime minister who is visiting Christchurch today. In typical Kiwi fashion the principal has referred to the PM simply as "Jacinda". This school lost 2 pupils in the attack and had 5 student directly affected.
— Eleanor (@EleanorAingeRoy) March 19, 2019
More tributes from the UK overnight. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan paid their respects on Tuesday for the victims of last week’s mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in which 50 people were killed.
The couple visited the High Commission of New Zealand in London, where they signed a book of condolence on behalf of the British royal family. They also laid small bouquets of flowers outside the building, known as New Zealand House.
Harry and Meghan, who married last May and are expecting their first child this spring, visited New Zealand late last year as part of their Pacific tour.
Bush says that more 120 people are involved in the process of identifying bodies and trying to get them back to their families. This includes the country’s best pathologists, 21 family liaison officers, who are meeting with every family who have lost a loved one.
Bush says that while they are committed to returning the bodies to families quickly, the priority for the police is to ensure “absolute accuracy” in identifying the bodies, says Bush. It needs to be to “evidential” standard.
Bush calls the swift return of victims’ bodies to their families an “absolute priority” for cultural reasons and personal reasons.
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush is speaking now.
He says 21 bodies had been formally identified last night and were ready to be released to families.
Six more will be ready by midday, the “majority” by the end of the day. He says in some cases the identification “will take longer.”
A reminder that anyone who needs to talk in the wake of the shootings can do so by calling this number.
Overnight, Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered British MP Jo Cox, tweeted his support for Jacinda Ardern’s decision not to speak the name of the shooter in the mosque attacks, a decision he also took.
Yes, yes and yes again. When Jo was killed I vowed the same. I have often genuinely forgotten the person’s name and my kids have never heard it. Notoriety is such an important driver for terrorists and we should all get better at denying them it. https://t.co/KQ56cJ4Oki
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) March 19, 2019
Eleanor Ainge Roy who will be following Jacinda Ardern today to her various events in Christchurch reports that the prime minister has landed in Christchurch and is en route to Cashmere high school.
Good morning and welcome to our continued coverage of the aftermath of the shootings in Christchurch in which at least 50 people were killed.
After delivering a powerful commemorative address to parliament yesterday, Jacinda Ardern has returned to Christchurch today, where she will be attending events paying tributes to the victims and first responders.
Her first event, which starts at 10:30am local time (in about an hour) will be held at Cashmere high school, which lost two students and a former student in the shootings.
We will bring you updates of those visits and any other news that breaks as the day unfolds.
My colleagues Eleanor Ainge Roy and Calla Wahlquist are on the ground in Christchurch, follow us (Eleanor, Calla, me) on Twitter, and please get in touch if you have any questions, news tips, photographs or thoughts you want to share with the blog.
