New Zealand shootings seen as racist attack; 49 dead

Police keep watch at a park across the road from a a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. Multiple people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of people attending Friday prayers, as New Zealand police warned people to stay indoors as they tried to determine if more than one gunman was involved. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers left at least 49 dead on what the prime minister called “one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” as authorities detained four people and defused explosive devices in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the events in Christchurch represented “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence” and acknowledged that many of those affected may be migrants and refugees.

In addition to the dead, she said more than 20 people were seriously wounded.

“It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” Ardern said.

Police took three men and a woman into custody after the shootings, which shocked people across this nation of 5 million people.

While there was no reason to believe there were more suspects, Ardern said the national security threat level was being raised to the second-highest level.

Authorities have not specified who they detained, but said none had been on any watch list.

Anti-immigrant manifesto

A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings left a 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto in which he explained who he was and his reason for the attack.

He said he was a 28-year-old white Australian and a racist.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that one of the four people detained was an Australian-born citizen.

Ardern at a news conference alluded to anti-immigrant sentiment as the possible motive, saying that while many people affected by the shootings may be migrants or refugees “they have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us.”

Extremist views

As for the suspects, Ardern said “these are people who I would describe as having extremist views that have absolutely no place in New Zealand.”

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police were not aware of other suspects beyond the four who were detained but they couldn’t be certain.

“The attackers were apprehended by local police staff. There have been some absolute acts of bravery,” Bush said. “I’m hugely proud of our police staff, the way they responded to this. But let’s not presume the danger is gone.”

Bush said the defense force had defused a number of improvised explosive devices that were attached to vehicles stopped after the attacks.

Deadliest attack

He said anybody who was thinking of going to a mosque anywhere in New Zealand on Friday should stay put.

The deadliest attack occurred at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch at about 1:45 p.m. Arden said 30 people were killed there.

Witness Len Peneha said he saw a man dressed in black enter the mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror.

Peneha, who lives next door to the mosque, said the gunman ran out of the mosque, dropped what appeared to be a semiautomatic weapon in his driveway, and fled.

Peneha said he then went into the mosque to try and help.

Livestream from shooter

“I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque,” he said.

Peneha said he helped about five people recover in his home. He said one was slightly injured.

He said the gunman was white and was wearing a helmet with some kind of device on top, giving him a military-type appearance.

A video that was apparently livestreamed by the shooter shows the attack in horrifying detail.

The gunman spends more than two minutes inside the mosque spraying terrified worshippers with bullets again and again, sometimes refiring at people he has already cut down.

He then walks outside to the street, where he shoots at people on the sidewalk. Children’s screams can be heard in the distance as he returns to his car to get another rifle.

The gunman then walks back into the mosque, where there are at least two dozen people lying on the ground.

After walking back outside and shooting a woman there, he gets back in his car, where the song “Fire” by English rock band “The Crazy World of Arthur Brown” can be heard blasting from the speakers. The singer bellows, “I am the god of hellfire!” and the gunman drives away. The video then cuts out.

There was a second shooting at the Linwood Masjid Mosque that Ardern said killed 10 people. —AP