There have been several deaths in an armed attack on mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. The police confirmed this on Friday, without giving precise numbers. According to eyewitness reports, a man had first shot at a downtown mosque where hundreds of Muslims gathered for Friday prayers. Later, shots were fired in another mosque. The situation was still unclear hours after the first shots.
New Zealand media reported at least nine deaths and dozens of injuries. But there were also reports of significantly more fatalities.
Police spokesman Mike Bush reported an arrest. It was initially unclear whether this is the alleged perpetrator and whether there are accomplices. Christchurch has 350,000 inhabitants and is located on the South Island of the Pacific.
DPA
Paramedics care for an injured person in Christchurch
According to eyewitness reports, the first shots were fired at 1:45 pm local time (1:45 am CET). There were more than 300 faithful in the mosque. According to witnesses, the culprit is a white man wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest. With his automatic weapon, he is said to have repeatedly fired into the crowd. There is a video circulating on the Internet and various messages allegedly from the perpetrator. At first, it was not possible to reliably verify this.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern strongly condemned the attack. In a brief statement, the Social Democratic politician spoke of one of the "darkest days" in the history of her country. For such a thing there is "no place in New Zealand". At the same time she expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. "New Zealand is their home, they should have felt safe here."
The situation was unclear even after hours. Police spokesman Bush spoke of a "very serious and tragic series of events" in a video message circulated on social networks. At the same time, he appealed to all Muslims in New Zealand to stay at home. "Under no circumstances should anyone in the country go to a mosque now."
When arrested, he said, "We have one person in custody, but we're not sure there are other people there." The city sealed off because of the unclear situation of all state buildings. In addition to schools, the city hall, the municipal library and museums were closed. Mayor Lianne Dalziel appealed to the residents to avoid the city center. She said, "Everyone is shocked, I never thought anything like this could happen here."