‘I saw children being shot’: Witnesses describe NZ terror attack
SRINAGAR: At least 49 people have been killed and at least 20 injured in terror attacks at two New Zealand mosques on Friday, 15 March.
The shootings at Linwood Masjid Mosque and Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch took place during Friday prayers. Describing the horrific attacks, eyewitnesses said that they saw blood and bodies everywhere.
Recounting the incident, 66-year-old Jill, who helped an injured man call his wife during the terror attack said that she never thought she would see something like this.
“I never thought in my life I would live to see something like this. Not in New Zealand,” the eyewitness told Bloomberg.
“I managed to get through the wife and told her that her husband has been shot outside the mosque. I told her to go to the hospital and wait for him. I also kept talking to him and telling him that his wife was at the hospital and he should not give up,” she said, tearing up.
“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. “It’s unbelievable nutty. I don’t understand how anyone could do this to these people, to anyone. It’s ridiculous.”
Mahmood Nassir, a witness told AP that they (people in the mosque) jumped fences, hid under cars and ran to the back doors just to save themselves. He said that when the firing stopped, he looked from over the fence to see the shooter changing his gun and taking the other one out.
Nassir said that his wife and 4-year-old child was inside the mosque. He has, however, got the news that his family is safe.
When asked about how he feels about his place of worship being attacked, he said that bad people don’t know the difference between the good and the bad.
“I just heard the news that my friend, Mr Yasir, his father is on visit here. They were coming in a car from the side street just looking at parking and those guys they’re firing from the car and his father got two bullets, one here and one somewhere else, he’s in the hospital. He was not even in the mosque. They just saw him, they look like you know Muslims, they just fired.”
(With inputs from AFP, AP, ABC News and stuff.co.nz)
