Christchurch remains on high alert as New Zealand searches for answers
New Zealand’s PM has consoled the Muslim community in Christchurch and revealed fresh details about the killer’s plan.
KEY POINTS
● Death toll stands at 49, while 39 remain in hospital
● A two-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy are among those recovering
● Australian man Brenton Tarrant smiled as he faced court charged with murder
● Second man, Daniel John Burrough, 18, faces multiple charges
● Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern flags “gun laws will change”
● Australia on high alert — extra police deployed to mosques
● World leaders, including British royals, share their horror
New Zealand is in grief and shock as it comes to terms with a heinous terrorist attack that killed 49 people in Christchurch yesterday.
Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern has now touched down in the city, paying tribute to the dead by wearing a black scarf over her head as she consoled members of the Muslim community at the Canterbury Refugee Centre.
“I am feeling the exact same emotions that every New Zealander is facing,” Ardern said.
Speaking about the killer’s plans, Ms Ardern revealed that it “was absolutely his intention to continue the attacks” and that police discovered two more guns in his vehicle, which was also fitted with explosives.
When asked how it felt to be in same building as the Australian killer, Ms Ardern responded without skipping a beat: “I’m also in the same building as the people bringing him to justice.”
Sarah Ahmed, who had family members who survived the shootings, said she was touched by Adern’s decision to wear the headscarf.
“She was engaged, she was concerned, she knew what to say,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“She is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, but they felt she was there with them and that nobody else mattered.”
At the press conference, Ms Ardern spoke of her emotional meeting with members of Christchurch’s Muslim community.
“Their community leaders shared the same sentiment that has come through from New Zealanders generally — this is not the New Zealand they know,” she said.
“This is not the New Zealand that has welcomed them and that it is not a reflection of the New Zealand they know, and that sentiment came through very strongly.”
Ms Ardern will go on to visit the victims in hospital this afternoon and said police are working very hard to form a picture of the activities of the Australian gunman.
“We are liaising closely with Australian agencies,” she said.
“I’ve heard again from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and we will stay in contact.”
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush has reminded people to stay vigilant in the wake of the mass shootings, but praised the emergency service response to yesterday’s massacre — saying it took 36 minutes from the first attack to the suspect’s arrest.
Details are emerging about those who lost their lives as well as the people who remain in hospital with a variety of injuries.
The 48 people admitted to hospital yesterday varied in ages from “the very young to the elderly”, Greg Robertson, Christchurch Hospital chief of surgery, told reporters.
Four people died in ambulances before reaching medical care. Seven of those treated have now been discharged.
Of the 39 survivors who remain, “some are in a stable condition and some are not”, Dr Robertson said, adding that 11 are in intensive care.
A Jordanian man who was shot four times along with his young daughter who was shot three times has posted an emotional video on Twitter to let those who sent messages of support know he is still alive.
“Please pray for me and for my daughters,” he said. “Thank you for all the support. God bless you all.”
Message from Jordanian man who was shot 4 times along with his little daughter who was shot 3 times and in critical condition. Please keep them in your prayers â¤ï¸ #Christchurch #NewZealandTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/8MYdBCTEg3
— muslim daily (@BirdsOfJannah) March 15, 2019
While the majority of patients are males aged 30 to 40, a woman in her mid-20s is “critically ill” and several children were also treated.
A four-year-old girl has been transferred to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition, he said.
Two children remain in Christchurch for treatment to gunshot wounds — a two-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy — and are in a stable condition.
Graves are now being dug for the dozens of worshippers who were callously shot dead by an Australian-born, immigrant-hating white supremacist as they gathered for Friday prayers at two of the South Island city’s mosques.
In the Muslim faith, the dead are usually buried on the same day but, because of the death toll is so high, families have been forced to wait until today.
“The reality is that there are 49 bodies to bury over a short space of time,” Dr Zain Ali head of the Islamic Studies research unit at The University of Auckland told Radio NZ.
Local school boys singing for the 49 lives lost 😢 @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/MITUw0QwXH
— Sophie Walsh (@sophie_walsh9) March 15, 2019
The world watched on in horror yesterday as the killer, who identified himself on Twitter as “Brenton Tarrant” from Australia, used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter on Facebook.
The gunman — who is one of three arrested over the attacks — smiled as he appeared in court charged with murder.
He was brought in by prison officers into a heavily secured courtroom under guard by police and court officers and packed with local and international media.
Mr Tarrant kept turning his face towards the media pack, smiling faintly.
This morning a bomb squad with a bomb robot has entered a street in Dunedin — a five-hour drive south of Christchurch — where the killer is believed to have lived.
Tensions are running high in the city, as armed police have attended an “incident” at Forsyth Barr Stadium — police say a gym member said there had been “making a ruckus” and was removed.
Tonight’s Highlanders v Crusaders Super Rugby match in Dunedin has been cancelled.
In Australia, police have revealed that Tarrant’s family approached NSW Police after watching footage of the terror attack.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this morning emphatically declared that gun laws must change.
“While the nation grapples with a form of grief and anger that we have not experienced before, we are seeking answers,” Ms Ardern said.
She said a fourth person detained yesterday was a member of the public who was in possession of a firearm, but with the intention of assisting police. That individual has since been released.
“None of those apprehended had a criminal history, either here or in Australia and they were not on any watch lists, either here or in Australia,” she said.
“I want to be very clear though, that our intelligence community and police are focused on extremism of every kind. Given global indicators around far-right extremism, our intelligence community has been stepping up their investigations in this area.”
DETAILS OF VICTIMS EMERGE
Brothers Omar and Yama Nabi, whose 71-year-old father was shot dead in the Christchurch mosques massacre, have described the alleged shooter as “heartless and cowardly”.
Both brothers were late to Friday prayer but their father Haji Daoud Nabi was on time and was shot at the Al Noor mosque on Dean’s Avenue in the first alleged shooting rampage which killed 41 of the total 49 dead.
Omar Nabi said that his father, who had emigrated from Afghanistan more than 30 years ago had worked hard as an entrepreneur and lived peacefully in Christchurch before the assault.
The brothers were running late doing errands for their respective different businesses in the city.
He moved to New Zealand from Afghanistan in 1977 and set up a new life as one of the “first Muslims in New Zealand”.
Standing outside Christchurch District Court where a 28-year-old Australian man is due to appear on a murder charge today, Yama Nabi said he wanted “to see his face”.
Naeem Rashid, a teacher from Pakistan, is being hailed a hero after he tried to wrestle the gun from the shooter.
He was badly wounded after throwing himself at the gunman in a bid to protect fellow worshippers.
He was quickly rushed to hospital following the attack, but later died.
Tragically, his 21-year-old son, Talha, also lost his life during the mass shooting.
Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates said about 200 family members were at the hospital awaiting news of their loved ones.
Red Cross has started a missing persons list, where the victims’ families can search for loved ones.
Among the missing is 3-year-old Mucad Ibrahim. His brother, Abdi Ibrahim, said no-one had seen Mucad since the shooting.
Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, a preacher at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, told The Washington Post that his four-year-old nephew was among those killed.
His brother-in-law, Adan Ibrahin Dirie, is also in the hospital with gunshot wounds. He had been worshipping in Christchurch that morning with his five children when the gunman opened fire. Four of his children escaped unharmed, but the youngest, Abdullahi, was killed.
Two taxi-driving brothers and a 25-year-old woman are believed to be among the victims in the Christchurch mosque massacres.
News.com.au has learned that the small boy shot, along with 41 killed in the first mosque attacked on Dean’s Ave, is a four year old Somali-Australian and is believed to be alive and in a critical condition.
Seven people died at the second mosque, and another in hospital bringing the total fatalities to 49.
As New Zealand authorities coped to process the tragedy, some victims were still not officially identified and had been listed as missing.
News.com.au has a list of the names of eight people, who include two brothers who both worked as taxi drivers in Christchurch city, and a woman aged 25.
Farhaj Ahsan, a person of Indian origin, was also reported to have gone to the same mosque and is currently missing. His family in Hyderabad, I request immediate assistance to his family as well. His family’s contact details are available with me & I’ll share the same with you. pic.twitter.com/KYwBcs2yTM
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) March 15, 2019
More victims of the Christchurch massacre have started to be named, as loved ones continue to search for the missing and strangers open their hearts and their wallets to help.
Indian man Ahmed Jehangir is fighting for his life in hospital, a family friend said, and has pleaded for support so his brother, Iqbal Jehangir can fly to New Zealand to be with him.
Kamel Darwish is missing after attending Friday prayers at the Deans Ave mosque, his brother Zuahair Darwish said.
After going to the scene he was directed by police to Christchurch Hospital, but he could not find Kamel there so returned to the mosque on Friday night.
Hesham, who did not want his last name published, told the Sydney Morning Herald that his best friend’s four-year-old brother was in Christchurch Hospital in a critical condition.
“They’re saying he’s not going to make it,” Hesham said.
Hesham spoke of two other victims he knew, a man and woman in their 50s, who were killed.
“They both were active within the community, always trying to better the community, getting things done,” he told the newspaper.
“These two people were very involved within the management of the mosque and very active in the community teaching kids.”
Adeeb Sami was visiting New Zealand to surprise his twin children for their birthday. Instead, the 52-year-old ended up in surgery having a bullet removed from his spine after diving in front of his two sons to protect them from the gunman.
“My dad is a real hero. He got shot in the back near his spine in an attempt to shield my brothers but he didn’t let anything happen to them,” Adeeb’s daughter, Heba, 30, told Gulf News.
Heba told the Dubai-based news outlet that she lost five family friends, including a 12-year-old boy, in the attack.
AUSTRALIA ON ALERT
Authorities across Australia are deploying extra police officers to mosques and at major events in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, with the threat level raised to ‘probable’.
Australian National Imams Council spokesman Bilal Rauf said he believed a similar attack to the Christchurch massacre “absolutely” could happen in Australia.
“This was a co-ordinated act of terror targeted at Muslims and it could easily happen again,” he said.
Senior police, led by counter terrorism chief Mick Willing, met on Friday to assess the threat on Australian soil and how best to assist their counterparts in New Zealand.
According to the National Terrorism Threat Advisory System, that means authorities have received “credible intelligence … that indicates that individuals or groups continue to possess the intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack in Australia”.
NSW Police issued a statement assuring Australia’s Muslim community that there were no specific threats domestically.
Victoria is also on high alert as Melbourne hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix, where extra police have been deployed to the international event.
Queensland police confirmed they had activated their counter terrorism abilities, with the state’s Police Commissioner Ian Stewart warning Queenslanders to be alert to their surroundings.
Commissioner Stewart said police had promised multi-faith and multicultural communities in Queensland that they would do everything possible to ensure their safety.
Meanwhile, Australian police and emergency workers are expected to be deployed to Christchurch in the coming days to assist their counterparts.
‘QUESTIONS TO ANSWER’
Ms Ardern has confirmed that neither Tarrant nor his two associates, who are also in custody, were on watch lists in either New Zealand or Australia.
But the prime minister denied the attack was the result of individuals having “slipped under the radar”.
Despite that, global security expert Joe Siracusa said authorities in both countries now have tough questions to answer.
“Every time the terrorists are successful, beginning from 9/11 to the current day, it means there’s an intelligence failure,” Mr Siracusa told A Current Affair.
Professor Siracusa said he found it “unbelievable” that Tarrant had managed to avoid security agency radars until it was too late.
“(Tarrant) seemed to telegraph everything,” he said, referring to the gunman’s horror act of lifestreaming the shootings. “This is a catastrophic failure of intelligence. And if Australia had a hand in it, they have to explain it too.”
New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Mike Bush said an “investigation into the intelligence failures is a priority”.
Professor Richard Jackson from the University of Otago said white nationalism is a threat the world has been ignoring.
“I think the lesson from this is something that all Western governments need to take. We know they haven’t been taking this lesson, seriously enough until recently.” he told ABC News.
“The threat from right-wing and white nationalist groups is extremely high. We know from looking at the budgets and looking at the powers that have been given to security agencies, and looking at the resources that they put into different areas, they have focused almost entirely, and exclusively, on the threat from Muslim extremists and now we’re seeing that in actual fact, they ought to be directing a great deal of resources to looking at the threat of nationalist groups.”
However, US President Donald Trump played down any threat posed by racist white nationalism globally.
When asked whether he thought it was a rising threat around the world, he said: “I don’t, really”.
“I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess,” Mr Trump said.
— with wires
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