New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country has suffered one of its worst mass shootings after attacks at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch left an unknown number of people dead and injured.
“It is clear this is one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” Ardern told reporters on Friday. “What has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence. It has no place in New Zealand. This is not who we are.”
Watch: 40 killed after ‘extremist’ Australian gunman opens fire at two New Zealand mosques
Police said they have arrested three men and a woman, and while they don’t think there are any armed offenders still at large, they can’t be sure the danger has passed or the incident is confined to Christchurch.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush declined to comment on whether it was an act of terrorism but said the situation was unprecedented in New Zealand. He said a number of home-made bombs were found attached to vehicles that police stopped.
“They’ve been made safe by the defense force but that does go to the seriousness of the situation,” Bush told a news conference. Police have asked all mosques nationally to shut their doors and advised people to refrain from visiting them until further notice. Christchurch schools were put in lockdown for several hours and residents told to stay off the streets.
Armed police were deployed after shots were fired at a mosque around 1:40 p.m. local time. One alleged shooter livestreamed part of the attack and posted a manifesto online, suggesting a racially motivated act of terrorism. In a rambling document that’s dozens of pages long, he says he was inspired by Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who was responsible for the deaths of 77 people in 2011.
{{/usCountry}}Armed police were deployed after shots were fired at a mosque around 1:40 p.m. local time. One alleged shooter livestreamed part of the attack and posted a manifesto online, suggesting a racially motivated act of terrorism. In a rambling document that’s dozens of pages long, he says he was inspired by Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who was responsible for the deaths of 77 people in 2011.
{{/usCountry}}Also read | 40 dead in New Zealand mosques shooting, says PM, calls it ‘well planned terrorist attack’
Radio New Zealand said an eyewitness saw a man wearing a helmet and glasses and a military style jacket open fire inside one of the mosques. One person saw four people lying on the ground and said “there was blood everywhere,” RNZ reported. Media reports of the number of fatalities varied widely, with the New Zealand Herald citing reports of between nine and 27 people dead.
Members of the touring Bangladesh cricket team were reportedly among those fleeing one of the mosques after their bus drove past the scene and was stopped by police. The test match they were scheduled to play against New Zealand tomorrow has been called off.
Also read | ‘People were covered in blood’: Witnesses describe shooting at New Zealand mosques