Terrorist Attacks on Two New Zealand Mosques Leave 49 Dead

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said 40 people are dead and more than 20 seriously injured after a terrorist attack at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch.

Describing the mass shootings as well-planned, Ardern said New Zealand has suffered one of its darkest days. Four people have been apprehended and are in police custody, she said.

“These are people who I would describe as having extremist views that have absolutely no place in New Zealand and in fact have no place in the world,” Ardern told a news conference in Wellington. “We believe that 40 people have lost their lives in this act of extreme violence. This can only be described as a terrorist attack.”

The events have shocked a nation where gun violence is relatively rare. The death toll, which may yet climb, already makes it the worst mass shooting since a prisoner of war camp riot in 1943, which killed 49. Christchurch, a city of about 390,000, is still recovering from a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people and destroyed the central business district.

Ardern said New Zealand’s national security threat level has been raised to high from low.

Police have asked all mosques nationally to shut their doors and advised people to refrain from visiting them until further notice. While they don’t think there are any armed offenders still at large, they can’t be sure the danger has passed or the incident is confined to Christchurch.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the situation was unprecedented in New Zealand. He said a number of home-made bombs were found attached to vehicles that police stopped.

“They’ve been made safe by the defense force but that does go to the seriousness of the situation,” Bush told a news conference.

Armed police were deployed after shots were fired at a mosque around 1:40 p.m. local time.

One alleged shooter live-streamed part of the attack and posted a manifesto online, suggesting a racially motivated act of terrorism. In a rambling document that’s dozens of pages long, he says he was inspired by Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who was responsible for the deaths of 77 people in 2011.

Facebook removed a video and also suspended the suspected shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after police alerted the company, it said on its official Twitter feed.

Facebook, YouTube Blindsided by Mosque Shooter’s Live Video

National carrier Air New Zealand said it has canceled flights out of Christchurch on smaller aircraft because it is not possible to screen departing passengers and their baggage.

Members of the touring Bangladesh cricket team were reportedly among those fleeing one of the mosques after their bus drove past the scene and was stopped by police. The test match they were scheduled to play against New Zealand tomorrow has been called off.

Ardern said New Zealand was chosen for attack precisely because it was a nation of tolerance and freedom.

“We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism,” she said. “We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of those things. Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion. Those values will not and cannot be shaken by this attack.”

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