New Zealand: Two mosques have been attacked by terrorists and opened fire upon the people in New Zealand’s city of Christchurch on Friday with police saying there were many dead.
According to Aljazeera report authorities said one suspect was in custody but they were dealing with an “active shooter” situation after a second mosque was targetted.
Police said there multiple fatalities.
Sam Clarke, a reporter with TVNZ, spoke with several people inside the Masjid Al Noor mosque when the shooting began. He told Al Jazeera a man entered with an automatic weapon and began firing.
“A gunman – dressed in black with a helmet carrying a machine gun – came into the back of the mosque and started firing into the people praying there,” said Clarke.
Police confirmed a second shooting occurred at the Linwood mosque during Friday prayers in the South Island city, but no details were immediately available.
“We’re dealing with an evolving situation across multiple sites,” New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a news conference. “This is, and will be, one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
Authorities have not described the scale of Friday’s shootings but urged people in central Christchurch to stay indoors. Police warned worshippers not to visit mosques “anywhere in New Zealand”.
(The story first appeared in Aljazeera)
