BREAKING 'ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS': MULTIPLE FATALITIES IN SHOOTINGS AT NEW ZEALAND MOSQUES
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Four people are in custody and multiple people are dead after reported shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. The nation's police commissioner said that while authorities are not aware of other suspects, they were not ruling anything out.
Officials have not said how many people were killed or injured in the attacks during worship at two Christchurch mosques, a situation New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush called “unprecedented.”
"We have multiple fatalities," Bush said late Friday afternoon. "At this point, I can't say how many, but it is significant."
"It is clear that this is one of New Zealand's darkest days,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said after the Friday afternoon shootings.
"Clearly, what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” Ardern said at a news conference.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired in central Christchurch around 1:40 p.m. Friday (8:40 p.m. Thursday ET), police said in a statement. All schools in the city were placed on lockdown, and residents were urged to remain indoors.
The police commissioner asked all mosques across the nation to close to their doors. "I want to ask anyone that was thinking of going to a mosque anywhere in New Zealand today not to go, to close your doors until you hear from us again,” Bush said.
Hours after the attack, police had four people — three men and one women, Bush said. "We are not aware of other people, but we cannot assume there are not others at large," he said.
Peneha told the AP that he went into the mosque to try and help and "saw dead people everywhere.”
Peneha said the gunman ran out of the mosque, dropped what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon in his driveway and fled.
A member of the mosque told local media at the scene that he was in a side room where the imam was speaking and it was peaceful and quiet when "suddenly the shooting started." He did not see the shooter, but saw people running.
Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15, 2019. Mark Baker / AP
Various social media posts on Twitter and the fringe message board 8chan were posted online by someone who appeared to have had prior knowledge of the shootings, including pictures of weapons and ammunition.
Authorities have not confirmed that the postings are connected to the shootings, but pictures and videos seen by NBC News as well as a manifesto posted shortly before the attack match known details of the shootings.
The manifesto includes anti-Muslim rhetoric, far right and far left political sentiment and references to radicalization via the internet.
Users on one of 8chan’s message boards, where the manifesto and terror threat were posted before the shooting, frequently post racist, homophobic and misogynistic memes and diatribes.
The prime minister acknowledged that many of the people directly affected by Friday's shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, and "they may even be refugees here.”
"They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not,” she said.
The Bangladesh cricket team was going to Friday prayers at the Masjid Al Noor mosque when the shooting occurred but all members were safe, a team coach told Reuters.
A car with shattered windows near the mosque after a firing incident in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. Pete Marsden / AFP - Getty Images
Although the Islamic faith requires praying five times a day, every day, Friday afternoon prayer services are highly revered because they are meant to be practiced as a community.
Many Muslims pray together at a mosque for the Friday afternoon prayer, referred to as Jumu’ah in Arabic.
The Quran contains specific verses referring to the Jumu’ah prayer as a day of assembly, a day for the Muslim community to come together in remembrance of their god, Allah.
Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, tweeted "I'm horrified by the reports I'm following of the serious shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The situation is still unfolding but our thoughts and prayers are with our Kiwi cousins.”
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A/noon..Once again the hand of hate and evil strikes...and one of the perpetrators is a fellow traitorous countryman....We stand beside our mates from across the Tasman as we have always done...We watch over them and they us. When one is in trouble we are always there standing by each others side. No one knows the numbers yet of the lost souls, but there are counts of over 30...and many severely injured...At times words fail me and I just sit here and think "why"?? We are with you New Zealand, the Land of the Long White Cloud...Lean on us and we will never let you fall....To the families and friends of the lost souls...deepest of sympathies and condolences....
Very sad news. Condolences to all affected.
Hard to understand this level of hate. Hard indeed.
Any regular reader here on NT would accept the fact that it isn't hard to understand at all.
Must be nice to be omniscient .... I can probably guess what other regular readers here think they are as well .....
Never claimed to be.
I do however claim to be curious enough to gather the FACTS and the facts about the documented motivations of the perpetrator of this mass murder are pretty easy to understand, some of which have been expressed by some members of NT.
Sure you have. You claim to understand his "hate" and yet you don't have the slightest idea what drove him to be that way.
Was it nature or nurture? Probably a combination of both in varying degrees but the fact remains. Unless you have intimate details of this person entire life, you don't have the slightest clue how he got to where he was the day of the shooting.
The few "current events" collected since this incident don't even begin to tell the whole story so you must be omniscient if you understand it as you claim.
Actually, I said that it isn't hared to understand his LEVEL of hate.
I HAVE read multiple articles about his manifesto, some with excerpts of his ramblings. They gave me some pretty good clues about what he looked to for guidance and motivation. I don't need to know if he had 'mommy issues' or about his entire life to know where his ideology ended up and what he wants to accomplish.
I don't need to take into account whether he was spanked as a child to understand his LEVEL of hate. It's pretty obvious that this guy wanted publicity and to be seen as a race warrior. He announced his attack and he live streamed it on multiple platforms.
Huh?
For a 'socialist' he idolizes 20th century fascism quite a bit.
Personally, I find your choice of wording a poor choice. But that is just my opinion. There is absolutely nothing on this Earth that justifies the hatred and the actions of the savages that perpetrated this heinous act. NT has nothing to do with it...
Why?
I didn't say anything about justifying anything.
I didn't say it did.
READ MORE CAREFULLY.
Yeah, what I do understand is that you “think” you understand but you still really don’t know how he got that fucked up. Not really. Neither does the average NT reader unless of course said readers are omniscient as noted. Which i’m sure some here still think they are.
Since I didn't comment on HOW he got that fucked up, you 'think' wrong.
Your comments aren't all strawmen, but when they are they are a major fail.
Perhaps I misinterpreted what you were saying. My apologies if I offended.
Lol, i'm not the one who's been saying its not hard to understand. C'mon man ..... is that the best you got?
True, since none of my comments here are. Your comment however inferring understanding, is a different story
You have spent 2 days you've insisted I claimed to understand how he became so fucked up.
I didn't. I said that it is not hard to understand his LEVEL OF HATE.
Your argument against a comment that I did not make is a strawman falisy. Look it up...
How do you figure that one out??? I know Trump is strange and odd at times but....
This article is about a terrible tragedy in Christchurch, New Zealand. It has nothing to do with Trump. Pretty sad and shallow that you have to interject your personal hatred of Trump and your politics into this.
My sincere and heartfelt condolences and prayers to all the victims and their families and loved ones during this terrible tragedy.
He has no more effect here in Australia or New Zealand as Morrison would in the States...Yes we know, some over there love him and some over there hate him..But to link him to this in Christchurch is really stretching it...We see it all over here what he says, how he acts etc etc...but at the end of the day makes no difference to us...So yep "strange and odd is all I have got" because at the end of the day I don't give a rabbits about him....
Good sentiments, rtb
I posted this at about 2 am since it was breaking news about a terrible tragedy in New Zealand. We have members like Shona1 who are New Zealanders and are in total distress now. There was no news about any manifesto at the time of the shooting, and even if there was, the words of a madman mean nothing to the loss of life. I know that emotions are running high right now, but please keep this article on the subject of the shooting.
One last note. I work and this is my busy season. I never expected this article to go so off the rails. So to those who feel I did not do my due diligence, I have fixed that.
The topic is the shooting
My apologies to Shona (I thought she was Australian?). Doesn't matter, my sympathies on this horrible tragedy
Hi Trout,
Your comment was one of the few I left up... I get that everyone is upset. This is a terrible act done by a very hateful and sick person.
Why didnt you just say that the only comments that are allowed here are ones of condolence?
Or did you think that a mass shooting at two mosques would not be controversial?
I made a comment that was deleted and I don't even remember what I said. I can't reproduce it on a seed that might allow it.
It was 2 am, I had already posted a different article when this came in. I felt this was the more important article and so I posted it. I even forgot to post my opening comment. At the time there was no information, so how was I supposed to know anything other than another madman had murdered innocent people?
Shona1 is Australian not a New Zealander...
I am aware of that, but the countries are very close as are their issues. Read her comment and you will see that is true.
Morning Perrie...Trout is correct I am an Aussie but I do hold the Kiwi's very much to heart..they are our cousins and we have stood beside each other through thick and thin..With the tyranny of distance it has always been just "us"..To think my fellow country man (and I struggle to say that) has done this is shattering...I am not sure if my choice of words it correct but it is incredible no matter what happens in this world, someone will link it somehow to Trump or to his supporters or his Party...Not sure if there is a/are word/s for that "obsessed/paranoid" I guess I don't know...But as I have always done I will write what I think and feel about a situation at the time..Especially if it relates to my part of the world..So the one's that wish to make it "Political" go for it and if it makes your day, well then even better..But in the meantime the people who write with decency, humanity, concern and above all compassion are the ones I follow....To the people of the Land of the Long White Cloud...we are with you in sorrow, sympathy and compassion...And above all I am so sorry for what my country man has done.....
My cuz lives in Melbourne, loves the healthcare system and the gun laws.
My daughter and husband, four grand kids, a dozen great grand kids and 1 1/2 great grand kids all live in Australia and as your cuz love the health care and gun laws.
Should read, 1 1/2 great great grand kids.
Morning Split/Kavika...Yes like all countries we have our good points and our bad..But at the end of the day just have to make the best of what we have.....When dark times arrive it knocks you down flat, you pick yourself up and get on with it all again. And we will confront once again, what ever comes out way....
I picked that up..Congrats!!!..Another little Aussie....
Haha, yes another little Aussie. No guess on the sex and I don't believe that they want to know until the birth...
Righ now between grand kids, great and great great. 9 girls and 8 boys. This one could cause a tie..LOL
Could start up a footy team....Wonderful news in the darkest of times....
Sure could but then I'd have to pay for uniforms...
Hi Shona,
I know that this will probably not make you feel better, but hateful, angry people come from all walks of life and no country is untouched. I realize that right now, it feels lousy knowing that these guys came from Australia, but as long as there are people, there will be these events.
It was around this time, that our member and my friend, Jonathan, now passed on, had to deal with the pain his wife was going through, as she was a Parkland teacher. She lost so many young lives that day.... and why?
There is no reasoning this one out. Hate is a poison that spreads like a virus. It is something I have never understood. But so does good, and you will see good from this after the shock wears off.
Gidday Perrie..So far only the shooter is my maggot country man who totally disgusts me..The Kiwis are very tight lipped about the other 2 who were arrested....No one knows anything about them or who they are yet. Regardless we have had our own home grown maggots..Port Arthur in Tasmania 1996, 35 died and hence the change in our gun laws...shook this country to the core and the memory of that day still does...Yes makes no difference where you are from or what you believe in..I have always gone by each to their own and so be it...and be at peace with that..But unfortunately for the nuts out there that means nothing to them. Lone Wolfs are always the hardest to spot and identify..There was nothing on our radar or the Kiwis on this maggot and the other 2 and that is to all our detriment...A very sad day for the Land Down Under and the Land Of The Long White Cloud....
Funny how a single drawing can have such power. I am so sorry for both of your two countries and those who lost their lives.
I think that just says it all, on how we are feeling on both sides of the ditch (Tasman) at the moment.....
Sad. Makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with some people.
I posted an article about pictures of elephants, I wondered how people could care so little about killing a beautiful, intelligent animal.
Then we have people that could care less about slaughtering their own kind.
I will never understand how some can care so little about life.
I hate to say this but, maybe they don't deserve it themselves.
Have to agree with you ender. People can be a grace or a plight. I try to focus on the positive even if it's hard.
Btw.. loved your article on the Tuskers.
Can we all agree this is what comes from demonizing whole groups of people?
We've had enough of church, synagogue, mosque and gay bar mass murders...
There were two different Mosques involved. In the second Mosque the number killed was 7. I was wondering why the other Mosque suffered so many more killed. Perhaps they had security there, or there were not many people at that Mosque.
I just read a story that at the second Mosque after the 7 were killed one of the worshipers attacked the gunman and wrestled the weapons away from him and the guy ran out to a waiting car. Sadly it said the those killed were not able to knee for the services but instead were sitting in chairs in the back of the Mosque. It's possible that they were elderly or disabled...
Kudos to the worshiper that attacked the gunman and wrestled his weapon away or it could have been even worse than what we have now.
Also to the two worshipers at the first Mosque that stood their ground and gave they lives.
Having done business in NZ and had an office in Christchurch I have a number of friends still living there. It is truly a very sad day not only for Christchurch and NZ, but for all of us when this type of hate bring about tragedies like this.
Morning Kavika..To put it mildly a bloody grim day here...I have Kiwi friends in the North Island and they are shattered as we are...What on earth goes on in people's minds at times..I have no idea..From what we are hearing he has been planning this for ages. Supposedly pay back for what has happened in Europe with the incidents in Nice, London etc etc involving Muslims...So this is his idea of solving it???...God (which ever one you believe or don't believe in) help us......
Morning Shona, I'm sure it's a bloody grim day down under. I've sent some of my friends emails but as yet have not received a response. Very understandable considering the circumstances.
Shooting innocent people, elderly, children, disabled it didn't matter to him. Sadly it seems that the world is in a downward spiral. Hopefully the good people of the world (the majority) can and will put an end to these crazy bastards.
It seems that our concept of sanctuary is lost to white supremacists. It's become all too common for them to attack religious sanctuaries.
Morning Dulay..Unfortunately I think you are right..they are not looked upon as Sanctuary's by these maggots, more like hunting grounds...How you get round this and try and stop it, I have no idea...My main fear is this will now set a precedent for all the unhinged as they come up with bigger and bolder plans to carry out..And the thought of that truly makes me feel sick.....
yes it has happened before, throughout history, the immediate one that comes to mind is when
the British Green Coats ( Tories ) were hunting down American revolutionaries is South Carolina and burned them all in a locked church.
Not the first or last time that had happened, I suppose, when partisanship overrides spiritual fellowship.
Kind of defines the species and defies the existence of God IMHO.
Only one thing comes to mind for me. Propaganda.
I know that law enforcement surveils the websites that these men frequent, and yes, they are overwhelmingly men. Perhaps some well placed comments from infiltrators can alter their ideology enough to cause them to come to the understanding that attacking people @ worship is cowardly. Questioning their manhood may have some small effect on their actions against innocent people.
Unfortunately, that cat has been out of the bag for decades in this country. The KKK has long been infamous for bombing and burning black churches. Now their ilk have added Mosques, Synagogues, and Temples and all too frequently, with firearms.
The feeling of helplessness makes that feeling even worse.
Here are some comments from my mates and matess. These began about an hour after the shooting.
This next fella is a Kiwi.
Another Kiwi and wife is a Māori:
Aussie:
Kiwis:
Aussie:
Change of subject.
Interesting and respectful exchange between the Aussies and Kiwis.
I left a lot of the small talk out.
A/noon Dave....Yes I have 2 friends in NZ..One in Whangarei she is Maori and another in Palmerston North..was in constant contact with them...Your Kiwi mates sound very typical call it as they see it and try and decipher the "hype" of the media to the real facts..Now the dust has settled and some of the actual facts are coming out..words fail me...and turns out it is my fellow country man much to my and everyone elses disgust here...There is still no mention of the other 2 that were arrested and they are very tight lipped about them. Words fail me and you just think why??? All I have heard so far is his "reasoning"....It was pay back for what has happened in Europe, Nice, London etc...I can only shake my head and wonder about the human race at times....Just feel so devastated and sad to think he has done that to our closest of friends across the ditch.....
G'day Shona.
Yeah, it's a bad deal and a lot of dynamics involved. There is no simple magic wand and trying to resolve deep seated anger will never be cured via whack a mole logic.
Maybe something closer to fractal logic, Maybe something closer to a multidimensional fractal logic, if such a concept makes sense at any level.
Condolences to all deserving. RIP.
Thats about when I turned in.
Absolutely gob smacked when I turned shit on this morning and saw 49 dead & 20 injured..............
smh
A/noon Split..I fear that number will rise as there are around 10 still listed as critical..including a little 4 yo girl from what has been said...her dad was also shot and is in hospital...They are digging 49 graves at the moment in Christchurch and maybe more to come....Just heart breaking the whole bloody thing...
There were hundreds in Charlottesville. It only took one to perpetrate that mass murder in NZ.
You just used a sweeping generalization to decry a sweeping generalization.
Yes, we read members defending Trump's bigotry here all the time...
Now 50 passed, 50 in hospital, 10 critical but the 4 yer old seems to be getting extra care.
In the mosque with 7 deaths, a member of the mosque who was worshiping had the courage to wrestle the gun away from the shooter and chase him out of the building. If not for that man's heroic actions, the death toll probably would have been much higher.
In the other mosque one worshiper stood right in from of him at the door when he had his weapons pointed at the guy and said, ''Hello Brother''...I would think that he was trying to talk him down, whatever it was, it took a lot of guts and he died for it. Another worshiper attacked, tackled the guy but he too was shot dead...
Two more to add to the hero at the Linwood mosque, Doc....
Morning Kavika/Doc..the toll has now risen to 50. They found another lost soul while removing the bodies from the Mosque...And seems my maggot country man was the sole shooter of them all..If the Maoris have a slow way of exterminating people I sure as heck hope they do it...He is no longer any use to society and should no longer walk this earth...
Yep.
It appears the New Zealand shooting was allegedly another white supremacist. And...……..tomorrow is another day.