What we know:

  • At least 49 people have been killed in armed attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to the government. 48 gunmen were treated at Christchurch Hospital, including small children, a spokesperson for the police said.
  • The attacks were perpetrated in the Masjid al-Noor mosque in downtown Christchurch and a mosque in the suburb of Linwood. According to eyewitness reports, a man had first shot at the downtown mosque where hundreds of Muslims gathered for Friday prayers. Later, shots were fired in another mosque.
  • 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".

"It is clear that this can only be described as a terrorist attack."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks after confirming 40 people have died in shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch: https://t.co/1BrW3kZqw9 pic.twitter.com/r23XzR7s5q

- CNN (@CNN) March 15, 2019

  • The police arrested four suspects, including three men and one woman. Among the suspects is an Australian, confirmed by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
  • A suspect has already been charged with murder, and he is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
  • Literally Morrison said, "We strongly condemn this attack, committed by a right-wing extremist violent terrorist." New Zealand's prime minister Ardern said the "terrorist attack" was "well prepared".
  • The Australian suspect was only "relatively short time" in New Zealand, said Ardern. On the Internet circulated an alleged video of the attack, which comes from the 28-year-old Australian. Apparently he was wearing a helmet camera and streamed the action on the Internet.
  • 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.
  • After the incident, police cordoned off the area around the mosque. Even schools were temporarily closed, the police said.
  • 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.
  • One of the surviving believers, Mohan Ibrahim, told the newspaper "New Zealand Herald" of a "shock moment". "Then all the people started running away." Another witness, Ahmad Al-Mahmoud, said: "At least 50 shots were fired, very fast in a row, and may have been hundreds."
  • According to reports from the "New Zealand Herald," the police were also deployed near one of the mosques. There a bomb in a transport vehicle is suspected, the bomb blasting team of the police is on site. Prime Minister Ardern confirmed that two bombs were defused.
  • New Zealand is considered a safe country, a violence of comparable magnitude has not existed here.

What we do not know:

  • Even hours after the first shots, the situation was still unclear. Police on Twitter spoke of a "prolonged, serious and tragic firearm incident". There would still be new information from the task forces.
  • In addition to the alleged video of the deed, there are various messages circulating on the Internet that should also come from the perpetrator. The man claims to be a 28-year-old Australian and acted out of xenophobia. At first, it was not possible to reliably verify this.