Forty-nine people have died, 25 critically injured with three men and a woman in custody following a shooting at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
CHRISTCHURCH – Police in New Zealand said there were “multiple fatalities” following shootings at two mosques in Christchurch and said they had one suspect in custody.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters he was mobilizing “every national police resource to keep people safe” as he advised residents of Christchurch to stay off the streets.
Police are responding with its full capability to manage the situation, but the risk environment remains extremely high,” he said in a release on Friday. Schools and public buildings were on lockdown.
Authorities said they were unable to confirm fatalities, but the scale of the bloodshed appeared to be vast. The national public broadcaster Radio New Zealand quoted an eyewitness who said, “There was blood everywhere.”
Reporters with the New Zealand Herald described seeing dead bodies near Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch, where several hundred people were inside for afternoon prayers, according to local media accounts. According to the Guardian, police were also warning of a bomb in a car that had crashed on a nearby street.
Among those inside the mosque in downtown Christchurch were members of Bangladesh’s national cricket team, according to a Bangladeshi journalist, Mohammad Isam. The ESPNcricinfo correspondent posted a video on Twitter of the cricket players hurrying through nearby Hagley Park as sirens wailed in the background.
NZ Prime Minister: “One of New Zealand’s darkest days”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern held a press conference into the shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, describing it as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
“What has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” she said.
Ardern said the attacker has “no place in New Zealand.”
“For now my thoughts and I’m sure the thoughts of all New Zealanders are with those who have been affected their families,” she said.
Attack broadcast live on social media
Out of respect and in condolence for all those killed in the terrorist attack in New Zealand, I have asked for flags to be flown at half-mast. pic.twitter.com/0qgIrmdgoH
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 15, 2019
“Australians stand with all New Zealanders today during this dark time where hate and violence has stolen their peace and innocence. Kia kaha (stay strong),” Morrison tweeted earlier.
“We would strongly urge that the (video) link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed,” the New Zealand police said.