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A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 16 March 2019

49 killed at mosques in 'one of New Zealand's darkest days'

Associated Press there, he gets back in his
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zea- car, where the song "Fire"
land (AP) — At least 49 by the English rock band
people were shot to death The Crazy World of Arthur
at two mosques during mid- Brown can be heard blast-
day prayers Friday — most ing. The singer bellows, "I
if not all of them gunned am the god of hellfire!" and
down by an immigrant- the gunman drives off be-
hating white supremacist fore police even arrive.
who apparently used a hel- The second attack took
met-mounted camera to place at the Linwood
broadcast live video of the mosque about 5 kilome-
slaughter on Facebook. ters (3 miles) away. Mark
One man was arrested and Nichols told the New Zea-
charged with murder, and land Herald that he heard
two other armed suspects about five gunshots and
were taken into custody that a worshipper returned
while police tried to deter- fire with a rifle or shotgun.
mine what role, if any, they The footage showed the
played in the cold-blood- killer was carrying a shot-
ed attack that stunned gun and two fully automat-
New Zealand, a country so ic military assault rifles, with
peaceful that police offi- an extra magazine taped
cers rarely carry guns. to one of the weapons so
It was by far the deadliest Police officers prepare to search the area near the Masjid Al Noor mosque, site of one of the mass that he could reload quick-
shooting in modern New shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 16, 2019. ly. He also had more assault
Zealand history. Associated Press weapons in the trunk of his
"It is clear that this can now car, along with what ap-
only be described as a ter- none had been on any neighbor. running out in terror. peared to be explosives.
rorist attack," Prime Minister watch list. On Saturday, the prime Peneha, who lives next The gunman's manifesto
Jacinda Ardern said, not- In the aftermath, the coun- minister said the "primary door, said the gunman was a welter of often po-
ing that many of the vic- try's threat level was raised perpetrator" in the shoot- ran out of the mosque, litically contradictory views,
tims could be migrants or from low to high, police ings was a licensed gun dropped what appeared touching on many of the
refugees. warned Muslims against owner and legally ac- to be a semi-automatic most combustible issues of
She pronounced it "one going to a mosque any- quired the five guns used. weapon in his driveway the day, among them the
of New Zealand's darkest where in New Zealand, and Arden said country's gun and fled. Peneha then Second Amendment right
days." the national airline can- laws will change as a result went into the mosque to to own guns, Muslim im-
The gunman who carried celed several flights in and of the carnage, but she did help the victims. migration, terrorist attacks
out at least one of the out of Christchurch, a city not specify how. "I saw dead people every- and the wealthiest 1 per-
mosque attacks posted a of nearly 400,000 people. New Zealand is also gener- where. There were three cent.
jumbled, 74-page mani- World leaders condemned ally considered to be wel- in the hallway, at the door He portrayed himself as
festo on social media un- the violence and offered coming to migrants and leading into the mosque, a racist and a fascist and
der the name Brenton Tar- condolences, with Presi- refugees. and people inside the raged against non-West-
rant, identifying himself as dent Donald Trump tweet- The prime minister said the mosque," he said. "I don't erners, but said China is the
a 28-year-old Australian ing, "We stand in solidarity attack reflected "extremist understand how anyone nation that most aligns with
and white supremacist who with New Zealand." Paki- views that have absolutely could do this to these peo- his political and social val-
was out to avenge attacks stan's Prime Minister Imran no place in New Zealand." ple, to anyone. It's ridicu- ues.
in Europe perpetrated by Khan and other Islamic Immigrants "have chosen lous." The gunman said he was
Muslims. leaders pointed to the to make New Zealand their Facebook, Twitter and not a member of any or-
He also livestreamed in bloodbath and other such home, and it is their home," Google companies scram- ganization, acted alone
graphic detail 17 minutes attacks as evidence of ris- she said. "They are us." bled to take down the gun- and chose New Zealand
of his rampage at Al Noor ing hostility toward Muslims At the White House, Trump man's video, which was to show that even the most
Mosque, where, armed after 9/11. called the bloodshed "a widely available on social remote parts of the world
with at least two assault New Zealand, with 5 million terrible thing" but rejected media for hours after the are not free of "mass immi-
rifles and a shotgun, he people, has relatively loose any suggestion the white horrific attack. gration."
sprayed worshippers with gun laws and an estimat- nationalist movement is In the video, the killer Last year, New Zealand's
bullets over and over, killing ed 1.5 million firearms, or a rising threat around the spends more than two prime minister announced
at least 41 people. Several roughly one for every three world, saying it is "a small minutes inside the mosque that the country would
more people were killed residents. But it has one of group of people that have spraying terrified wor- boost its annual refugee
in an attack on a second the lowest gun homicide very, very serious problems." shippers with gunfire. He quota from 1,000 to 1,500 in
mosque in the city a short rates in the world. In 2015, The gunman, in his rambling then walks outside, where 2020. Ardern, whose party
time later. it had just eight gun homi- manifesto, deemed Trump he shoots at people on campaigned on a promise
At least 48 people were cides, or what passes for a "a symbol of renewed white the sidewalk. Children's to take in more refugees,
wounded, some critically. bad weekend in places like identity." screams can be heard in called it "the right thing to
Police also defused explo- Chicago. At the Al Noor mosque, wit- the distance as he returns do."
sive devices in a car. Before Friday's attack, New ness Len Peneha said he to his car to get another Christchurch, sometimes
Police did not say whether Zealand's deadliest shoot- saw a man dressed in black rifle. He walks back into the called the Garden City,
the same person was re- ing in modern history took and wearing a helmet with mosque, where there are has been rebuilding since
sponsible for both shoot- place in 1990 in the small some kind of device on top at least two dozen people an earthquake in 2011
ings. They gave no details town of Aramoana, where enter the house of worship lying on the ground. killed 185 people and de-
about those taken into a gunman killed 13 people and then heard dozens of After going back outside stroyed many downtown
custody except to say that following a dispute with a shots, followed by people and shooting a woman buildings.q