The NZ mosque 'hero' who saved lives by tackling shooter, and other survivor stories

[MenInG]

As survivors of the Christchurch mosque shootings recalled how elderly worshippers and children were mercilessly gunned down in New Zealand's worst massacre, a heroic tale emerged from Linwood Mosque, the second site where Muslim worshippers were gunned down.

At least seven people died at the Linwood Avenue mosque, about five kilometres away from Masjid al Noor, where Syed Mazharuddin said a man wearing body armour and a helmet opened fire.

“Just around the entrance door there were elderly people sitting there praying and he just started shooting at them,” he told the New Zealand Herald.

“There was a lady screaming and he shot her point blank in the face.”

Mazharuddin said a man wrestled a weapon off the attacker, who cut short his killing spree and ran to a waiting car.

“The young guy who usually takes care of the mosque ... he saw an opportunity and pounced on him (the gunman) and grabbed his gun,” Mazharuddin said.

“This guy, the hero, tried to chase but he couldn't find the trigger in the gun... he ran behind him but there were people waiting for (the shooter) in the car and he fled. “

'Very calm' gunman
Anwar Alsaleh was preparing for Friday prayers at the Masjid al Noor mosque in central Christchurch — where 41 victims were killed — when a gunman walked in.

Anwar hid in a bathroom and tried to call emergency services as shots rang out, telling stuff.co.nz he heard the gunman say an expletive about Muslims and “We're going to kill you today.” He said he heard people begging for their lives. “They shot them until they died,” he said.

The attacker live-streamed the attack, with footage showing him firing repeatedly at worshippers as he moved from room to room.

Witnesses at the Masjid al Noor mosque said the shooter was a white male with magazines of ammunition strapped to his legs.

One told Radio New Zealand the gunman was “very calm” during the rampage.

Mirwaiz, an Afghan refugee who did not want to provide his surname, said he came close to death when a bullet grazed his head.

“He started shooting at our side of the room and I lay down on the floor as a bullet grazed my head. A couple of centimetres lower and I would be dead,” he told stuff.co.nz, saying he fled from the mosque while the gunman's attention was elsewhere.

Others told of scrambling through broken windows and playing dead among the carnage in a bid to survive.

Carl Pomare was driving past the Masjid al Noor with an employee when he saw people running from the mosque and falling to the ground.

They pulled over and tried to help the injured, including a five-year-old girl.

“We managed to get her into the car of one of the people who was helping and got her to the hospital; she was critical,” he told RNZ.

“The guy that my worker was nursing, he passed away in his arms sadly. It was surreal.”

https://www.dawn.com/news/1469824/t...y-tackling-shooter-and-other-survivor-stories

 

[Pakistanian]

Pakistani hero in Mosque massacre

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Muslim man in the video who heroically sacrificed himself to stop the terrorist has been identified as Naeem Rashid from Abottabad, Pakistan. His son Talha was also killed in the attack.<br><br>Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. <a href="https://t.co/tAnatrqZKE">pic.twitter.com/tAnatrqZKE</a></p>— Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyMcLellan/status/1106633755140280320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[cricketjoshila]

May god give him peace. May he be rewarded for his bravery and sacrifice. May his family find the strength to cope with the loss.

 

[The_Odd_One]

A real hero

 

[Pakistanian]

some sources say he's alive but in critical condition

 

[cricketjoshila]

some sources say he's alive but in critical condition

Hope he gets well soon.

 

[a_tahir]

some sources say he's alive but in critical condition

Looking at the video, it's clear he got shot at least 10 times at point blank. The terrorist even shot him 5 times more to make sure. Unfortunately, he's not alive. May Allah grant him Jannat ul firdous

 

[Pak Warrior]

A true hero, may Allah take care of his soul and bless him jannat.

 

[PakLFC]

No offence intended but what did he do that was so heroic?

 

[hussain.r97]

No offence intended but what did he do that was so heroic?

He launched himself at the terrorist, and tried wrestling him to the ground to prevent him from killing more people.

 

[PakLFC]

He launched himself at the terrorist, and tried wrestling him to the ground to prevent him from killing more people.

Then if he died is a shaheed for sure.

 

[hussain.r97]

He is the brother in law of a friend in Christchurch, haven't personally met him but my parents have, and they say he was a really good guy, was doing his PhD from the University of Canterbury, and his son was about my age too (21).

Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that he passed away last night. May he rest in peace.

 

[Pakistanian]

He is the brother in law of a friend in Christchurch, haven't personally met him but my parents have, and they say he was a really good guy, was doing his PhD from the University of Canterbury, and his son was about my age too (21).

Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that he passed away last night. May he rest in peace.

guess you're right

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Naeem_Rashid4

 

[Rana]

Christchurch shootings: Brother proud of mosque victim's 'heroism'

The brother of a Pakistani man who was killed during Friday's mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, has told the BBC of his pride and pain.

Khursheed Alam said he was proud his brother, who was killed alongside his son, had tried to tackle the gunman. "I wish I could die like him," he said.

Forty-nine people were killed during Friday prayers at the two mosques.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with one count of murder.

He appeared in court on Saturday in a white prison shirt and handcuffs, smiling for the cameras. Further charges are expected to be made against him.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Mr Tarrant had a firearms licence and owned five guns, adding: "Our gun laws will change."

The court judge ruled that the suspect's face should be pixellated in photographs and filming to preserve his fair trial rights.

Two others are in custody. None of those detained had a criminal record.

Pain of relatives
Naeem Rashid, 50, and his 21-year-old son Talha had been living in New Zealand since 2010.

Mr Rashid has been hailed as a hero on social media after being seen in a video of the attacks apparently trying to tackle the gunman at Al Noor mosque before being shot.

His brother, in the northern Pakistani city of Abbottabad, told the BBC's Secunder Kermani he was proud of his actions.

"He was a brave person," Mr Alam said. "I've heard from people there... there were a few witnesses who said he saved a few lives by trying to stop that guy.

"I wish I could die like him."

But he went to add that even though his brother was being hailed as a hero by some people, it was "still a shock for us".

"It's our pride now, but still the loss - it's like cutting your limb off really."

Mr Alam said he was angry.

"Terrorists don't have a religion," he said, adding "crazy people" had to be stopped.

Officials in New Zealand are now carrying out the difficult task of identifying those who have died.

But from the relatives' accounts, it is becoming clear they came from countries around the world, and that many of them were refugees who thought they had found safety in New Zealand.

Many families who have not yet made contact with their loved ones are enduring a terrible wait for news.

One of the survivors, Ali, told the BBC he had been praying at Al Noor mosque with his brother and father.

He and his brother escaped injury, but their father was in an induced coma having been shot in the back trying to protect his sons.

"He was the one who took a bullet for me," Ali said.

Some of the other victims were:

Sayyad Milne, 14, who wanted to be a footballer when he grew up
Daoud Nabi, 71, who is believed to have thrown himself in front of other people in the mosque to protect them
Khaled Mustafa, a refugee from the war in Syria
Hosne Ara, 42, killed while searching for her husband who uses a wheelchair - he survived
How events unfolded
The first report of an attack came from the Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch during Friday prayers at 13:40 (00:40 GMT).

A gunman drove to the mosque, parked nearby and began firing into the mosque as he walked in through the front entrance. He fired on men, women and children inside for about five minutes. He live-streamed the attack from a head-mounted camera and identified himself in the footage.

The suspect is then said to have driven about 5km (three miles) to another mosque in the suburb of Linwood where the second shooting occurred.

Police say they recovered firearms from both mosques, and explosive devices were found in a car belonging to one of the suspects.

Ms Ardern said the guns used by the attacker appeared to have been modified, and that the suspect's car was full of weapons, suggesting "his intention to continue with his attack".

He had obtained a gun licence in November 2017 that allowed him to buy the weapons used in the attack.

"The mere fact... that this individual had acquired a gun licence and acquired weapons of that range, then obviously I think people will be seeking change, and I'm committing to that."

What are New Zealand's gun laws?
New Zealand's Attorney General David Parker said the government would look into banning semi-automatic weapons, but that no final decision had been made. Previous attempts to tighten gun laws in a country with a strong gun lobby and culture of hunting have failed.

The suspect had not been on the radar of security services in New Zealand or Australia.

'A rejection of hate'
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, Christchurch

All day on Saturday the people of Christchurch have been turning out to show their rejection of the hate that inspired Friday's horrific attacks.

In ones and twos and in family groups, people have been coming by the hundred to a makeshift memorial set up on the edge of Hagley Park. Outside the two mosques that were attacked, people have been laying more flowers. Many have left hand-written notes. "This is not New Zealand," one read.

At one point a group of young men started quietly singing a traditional Maori song, their heads bowed, eyes closed. The mayor of Christchurch said the killer had come to the city with hate in his heart, to perform an act of terrorism. But she said he did not represent anything about the city.

Still, there are lots of uncomfortable questions for the authorities here. The man now in custody, Brenton Tarrant, made no secret of his support for white supremacy. He had reportedly been planning the attacks for months. And yet he was not on any police watch list. He did not have any trouble getting a gun licence, nor in buying a collection of high-powered weapons.

Suspect's message
Before the attacks, social media accounts in the name of Brenton Tarrant were used to post a lengthy, racist document in which the author identified the mosques that were later attacked.

The text is called The Great Replacement, a phrase that originated in France and has become a rallying cry for European anti-immigration extremists. The man said he had begun planning an attack after visiting Europe in 2017 and being angered by events there.

The suspect sent the document to 70 people, including to Ms Ardern's generic address, less than 10 minutes before the attack, the New Zealand Herald reports.

Muslims make up about 1.1% of New Zealand's population of 4.25 million, according to the latest census figures. Numbers rose sharply as the country took in refugees from various war-torn countries since the 1990s.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47596816

 

[MenInG]

A worshipper at the site of the second Christchurch mosque attack has spoken of how he chased away the gunman armed only with a credit card machine.

Abdul Aziz, who was born in Afghanistan but is an Australian citizen and lived in Sydney for 27 years, was inside the Linwood mosque with four of his children for Friday prayers when someone shouted that a gunman had opened fire.

“He had on army clothes,” Aziz told Reuters on Sunday. “I wasn’t sure if he was the good guy or the bad guy. When he swore at me, I knew that he’s not the good guy.”

When he realised the mosque was being attacked, the 48-year-old ran towards the gunman, picking up a credit card machine as a makeshift weapon. After the gunman had run back to his car to get another gun, Aziz said he threw the credit card machine, ducking between the cars to avoid gunfire.

He then picked up a gun dropped by the attacker and pulled the trigger, but it was empty. “I was screaming at the guy, ‘come over here, come over here’ – I just wanted to put his focus on me,” Aziz said.

Aziz said the gunman went inside the mosque, and he followed, eventually confronting him again.

“When he saw me with the shotgun in my hands, he dropped the gun and ran away toward his car. I chased him,” he said. “He sat in his car and with the shotgun in my hands, I threw it through his window like an arrow. He just swore at me and took off.”

Aziz has been called a hero by the mosque’s acting imam, Latef Alabi, who said he believed the death toll would have been far higher if it had not been for Aziz’s actions.

Alabi said he stopped prayer when he looked out of the window and spotted a man in black military-style gear and a helmet holding a large gun, mistaking him for a police officer. Then he saw two bodies and “realised this is something else”.

Alabi told his congregation of about 80 to get down. “Then this brother [Aziz] came over. He went after him, and he managed to overpower him, and that’s how we were saved,” Alabi told Associated Press. “Otherwise, if he managed to come into the mosque, then we would all probably be gone.”

Aziz is from Kabul, Afghanistan, but left the war-torn country several years ago. He has been in Christchurch for two and a half years and owns a furniture shop.

“When I came back in the mosque, I could see that everybody was very frightened and trying to cover,” he said. “I told them, ‘Brother, you are safe now, get up, he’s gone. He’s just run away.’ And then after that everybody started crying.”

After Aziz confronted him, the gunman was chased down by two police officers who blocked his car and captured him. “Those two police officers acted with absolute courage,” police commissioner Mike Bush said at a news conference on Sunday. “They have prevented further deaths and risked their own lives to do so.”

More heroes have come to light as investigators pieced together the incident.

Naeem Rashid, 50, was seen lunging at the gunman in the livestream video from the initial attack on Al Noor mosque. Rashid, from Abbottabad, Pakistan, and a New Zealand resident for nine years, was in the mosque with his 21-year-old son. Both were killed.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...way-the-christchurch-shooter?CMP=share_btn_wa

 

[shaaik]

Christchurch shootings: The Briton who survived mosque attack
British-born Nathan Smith is a survivor of the Christchurch mosque attacks on 15 March.

Mr Smith, who is originally from Dorset, told the BBC that he doesn't know how he survived the Al Noor mosque attack.

He also spoke about his memories of fellow worshippers who died in the attack on the mosque where he regularly worships.

<iframe width="400" height="500" frameborder="0" src="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/embed/p0743589/47644703"></iframe>

 

[MenInG]

Two New Zealanders were awarded the country's highest bravery award on Thursday for confronting a white supremacist gunman during a 2019 terror attack on Christchurch mosques that claimed the lives of 51 Muslim worshippers.

Naeem Rashid, who died in the attack, and survivor Abdul Aziz were awarded the New Zealand Cross for great bravery in a situation of extreme danger for their actions during the March 2019 shootings.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the medal, which has only been awarded twice before, was New Zealand's non-combat equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

A further eight people, including two police officers who apprehended gunman Brenton Tarrant as he tried to flee the scene in a car, also received bravery decorations.

Ardern said the actions of those honoured probably prevented the death toll from being even higher.

“The courage demonstrated by these New Zealanders was selfless and extraordinary, they have our deepest respect and gratitude for their actions on that day,” she said.

Armed with an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons, Tarrant first attacked Friday worshippers at Christchurch's Al Noor mosque before moving on to the Linwood prayer centre, livestreaming the killings as he went.

His victims were all Muslim and included children, women and the elderly.

Rashid was in the Al Noor mosque and charged at Tarrant, partially knocking him down despite being shot in the shoulder.

Tarrant gunned down Rashid, whose son Talha was also killed, but his actions distracting the attacker allowed several people to escape.

Aziz confronted Tarrant when he moved on to Linwood, hurling a credit card payment machine at him and then taunting him to try to draw him outside into a car park.

He also brandished an empty rifle discarded by Tarrant, causing the gunman to flee fearing the weapon was loaded.

A judge last year sentenced Tarrant to the first whole-of-life sentence ever handed down in New Zealand, calling his actions “wicked” and “inhuman”.

DAWN