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Earlier this week, more than 1,000 students from Christchurch schools united to honor the 50 lives lost in last week’s mass shooting. The massacre in two local mosques marks the worst terror attack in the modern history of New Zealand. Students gathered in a park across from the Al Noor mosque to light candles and sing a traditional Maori song. The vigil also included a passionate performance of haka, the ceremonial dance of the indigenous Maori people.
People around the world are also taking action to express their condolences and sorrow for the lives lost in Christchurch.
The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh has launched a fundraising campaign to benefit New Zealand’s Muslim community. As the site of a recent mass shooting, members of the congregation can uniquely empathize with the Christchurch community.
“We’re unfortunately part of a club that nobody wants to be part of, and we wanted to reach out to New Zealand in the same way everyone reached out to us,” congregation president Sam Schachner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Pakistan observed a day of mourning for victims of the mosque attacks and honor. Six Pakistanis were confirmed dead as a result of the shootings. The victims were identified as Sohail Shahid, Syed Jahandad Ali, Syed Areeb Ahmed, Mahboob Haroon, Naeem Rashid and his son Talha Naeem.
New Zealand is taking serious measures to ensure another tragedy does not happen. In the wake of the attack, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to tighten gun laws and consider banning private ownership of semi-automatic rifles. The nation’s largest gun show was canceled out of respect for Christchurch victims.
Authorities are trying to work as quickly as possible to clear causes of death and confirm the identities of the deceased. In Islam, bodies are to be cleansed and buried as soon after death as they can, usually within a 24 hour timeframe.
As the accused gunman Brenton Harrison Tarrant is being investigated by the authorities, new dimensions surrounding the shootings are being brought to light. Prior to carrying out the attack, Tarrant allegedly distributed a manifesto of white extremist hatred.
A Greek word meaning “Turk-eater” was found written on his rifle. Authorities have secured confirmation that Tarrant visited Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia and Hungary between 2016 and 2018. Tarrant’s supposed intention for these trips were to study ancient battles between Christians and the Ottoman Empire.
The assailant wanted the public to bear witness to the bloody attacks. A graphic video filmed by the shooter circulated social media in the first 24 hours after the shootings. Facebook has since removed 1.5 million shared videos of the attacks. Many are horrified by how quickly the disturbing images made their way around the Internet and how many people chose to reshare them on their pages.
A key witness, Abdul Aziz remembers the events of the shooting vividly.
He was praying with his four sons in the Linwood Mosque when he heard gunshots. To protect the people around him, Aziz threw a credit card machine at the attacker, who dropped his gun and ran out. Many believe Aziz’s actions caused the gunman to flee rather than stay to kill more people.
“It was like my mind wasn’t working,” Mr. Aziz said to The New York Times. “It was [an] automatic reaction, like anybody. I was prepared to give my life to save another life.”
Flowers, cards and candles have piled up around both the Linwood and Al Noor mosques as people express their love and grief for the victims of the attacks.
The Associated Press reports there are a number of beautiful tributes written by family, friends and community members, including this one: “We wish we knew your name to write upon your heart. We wish we knew your favorite song, what makes you smile, what makes you cry. We made a heart for you. 50 hearts for 50 lives.”
