The Christchurch mosque shootings were two consecutive terrorist mass shootings at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday prayers on 15 March 2019. The attacks resulted in 50 people killed and at least 50 injured. The suspected perpetrator was arrested and charged with murder. The first attack was live streamed on Facebook Live.
The attacks began at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, a suburb of Christchurch, at 1:40 p.m. on 15 March 2019 and continued at the Linwood Islamic Centre at about 1:55 p.m. Early reports spoke of "a multiple, simultaneous attack", but later on one suspect was charged for the "planned" murder at both mosques.
A gunman began shooting worshippers at the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue, Riccarton, at around 1:40 p.m. He was described in media reports as a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist who used neo-Nazi symbols. Between three to five hundred people may have been inside the mosque, attending Friday prayers, at the time of the shooting. A neighbour of the mosque told reporters that he witnessed the shooter flee the mosque and drop what appeared to be a firearm in the driveway while he fled. The neighbour said that the shooter appeared to be wearing military-style clothes. After the shooting ended, the neighbour went inside to help the victims.
The gunman live streamed the first 17 minutes of the attack on Facebook Live, starting with the drive to the mosque and ending with the drive away. Moments before the shooting, the perpetrator—seated in his car—played both a traditional marching song of the British military called "The British Grenadiers" and "Serbia Strong", a Serb nationalist song from the Bosnian War (1992–1995) celebrating Radovan Karadžić, who was found guilty of genocide against Bosnian Muslims. Just before the shooting, the gunman appeared to be greeted by one of the worshippers, who said "Hello, brother" and was amongst the first people to be killed. The live streamed footage also showed that the gunman shot at other people in the area, before driving away, having spent about six minutes at the mosque. The footage stopped as he was driving along Bealey Avenue, heading in the direction of the Linwood Islamic Centre. Police were alerted to the shooting at 1:53 p.m.
Linwood Islamic Centre
A second shooting occurred at about 1:55 p.m. at the Linwood Islamic Centre, a mosque 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from Al Noor. Seven people were killed there. The mosque's acting imam Latef Alabi credited a worshipper named Abdul Aziz for stopping the attack before the gunman could enter the mosque; at that point, the gunman had already shot several people outside the mosque. Aziz related the following account in interviews: hoping to distract the gunman from attacking people in the mosque, he grabbed a credit card reader and ran out from the mosque shouting: "come here!" As the gunman retreated to his car, Aziz threw the machine at him. The gunman obtained another firearm and fired at Aziz, who took cover among the cars and retrieved an empty shotgun the gunman had dropped. When the gunman returned to his car again, Aziz threw the shotgun and shattered a car window, causing the attacker to curse and drive away, despite Aziz's efforts to chase him.
Two improvised explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle and were subsequently defused by the New Zealand Defence Force. No explosives were found on the gunman.
The attack killed 50 people—42 at Al Noor Mosque, seven at the Linwood Islamic Centre and one who died in Christchurch Hospital. The age range of the victims was 2 at the youngest, with the oldest being 71. From Police Commissioner Mike Bush's update, as of 10:00 a.m. on 17 March 2019, 50 people were injured, 36 people were being treated for gunshot wounds at Christchurch Hospital, two of whom were in a serious condition, with one child at Starship children's hospital in Auckland.
In the wake of the attacks, dozens of people remain missing and several diplomatic offices and foreign ministries released statements concerning the number of victims from their nations. The police have requested registration of missing people or those listed as missing identifying themselves to be safe be done online. A list of missing people has been published by New Zealand Red Cross, and includes nationals of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, is suspected of carrying out the attack. He was arrested on Brougham Street by two "rural community" police officers 36 minutes after the first emergency call.Mobile phone footage showed his car had been rammed against the kerb by police before his arrest at gunpoint. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that he had been planning to continue the attack. He appeared in the Christchurch District Court on 16 March, where he was charged with murder and remanded in custody. During his court appearance, he smirked at the media and made an OK gesture. The case was transferred to the High Court, with his next appearance scheduled for 5 April 2019.
Tarrant recorded his beliefs in a 73-page manifesto titled "The Great Replacement", a reference to the Great Replacement and white genocide conspiracy theories. It expresses several anti-immigrant sentiments including hate speech against migrants, white supremacist rhetoric, and calls for non-European immigrants "invading his land" to be removed. Tarrant describes himself as an ethno-nationalist. Nine minutes before the attacks, Tarrant sent the manifesto by email to over 30 recipients, including the Prime Minister's office. He also shared links to the manifesto on Twitter and 8chan immediately before the attack. He said he began planning an attack two years earlier and chose the Christchurch location three months earlier. He stated that he targeted Muslims as a form of “revenge against Islam for 1,300 years of war and devastation that it has brought upon the people of the West and other peoples of the world.”
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