The Christchurch Mosque shooting has left 40 people dead and more than 20 more injured, according to an early Friday morning report by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Police confirmed “multiple fatalities” from the event on Friday afternoon (New Zealand time), and also confirmed at that point that a suspect had been arrested, though they didn’t provide further details.
A number of witnesses have since given statements to various news networks about their experience.
To CNN, a witness who was in the mosque said, “There were more than 200 people inside. The gunman came from the backside. Gunshots went on for a long time. We had to jump the wall to escape.”
Another witness said to The Washington Post, “I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque. It’s unbelievable nutty. I don’t understand how anyone could do this to these people, to anyone. It’s ridiculous.”
Another witness gave a more lengthy and graphic description of what happened to The Guardian:
It was very peaceful, calm and quiet, as it is when the sermon starts, you could hear a pin drop. Then suddenly the shooting started. It started in the main room… I was in the side room, so I didn’t see who was shooting but I saw that some people were running out to my room where I was in, I saw some people had blood on their body and some people were limping. It was at the moment I realised things were really serious. So I tried too get out and I pushed myself at the back where my car was, and from there I heard the shooting, it went on six minutes or more, I could hear screaming and crying, I saw some people drop dead, some people were running away, I was in a wheelchair, so I couldn’t get anywhere. He did his massacre inside the mosque.
*CONTENT WARNING: Many of these photos contain screenshots of the video allegedly taken by the shooter, which show bodies*
Videos Related to the Mosque Shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand
Heavy has decided not to show the video that was released by the shooter onto Facebook Live. However, here are other videos pertaining to the incident, including the video of a suspect being apprehended:
JUST IN: New Zealand police say four people are in custody after shootings occurred at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, and there are a “significant” number of fatalities. Live updates: t.co/qfZjJQx3MN
New Zealand radio journalist tells BBC World News up to 27 people were killed in Friday afternoon’s mass shooting at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
#BREAKING: Brenton Tarrant wrote about his intentions online, calling it a ‘terrorist attack’. #9News
LATEST DETAILS: t.co/g9v224ejaU
The man suspected of being involved in the mass shooting in Christchurch, Brenton Tarrant, says he was born in Australia. t.co/2OOeW4NEs6 #Christchurch #7News