New Zealand media are reporting that a second shooting has occurred in another mosque in the city of Christchurch.
Earlier Friday afternoon, police had urged people to stay indoors as authorities responded to two shootings in Christchurch.
One shooting was reported at the Masjid Al Noor mosque on Deans Ave, Christchurch.
Witness Len Peneha says he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror.
He says he also saw the gunman flee before emergency services arrived.
Peneha says he went into the mosque to try and help, “I saw dead people everywhere.”
Other witnesses have said that many people have been killed in the shooting.
#Breaking: Just in – Alleged video of the shooter being rammed by the police of #NewZealand after the shootings at the Al-Noor mosque and another, in the #Christchurch Terror attack. pic.twitter.com/6w5ze3qufX
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@sotiridi) March 15, 2019
The second shooting was reported at the Linwood Mosque in Christchurch.
New Zealand news website Stuff reported that a witness to the shooting at the Linwood mosque Syed Ahmed told media they saw a man wearing a black motorcycle helmet and camouflage clothing. The shooter also appeared to be carrying a black assault rifle with white writing like that which was seen in the video from the first shooting. Ahmed said he thought at least eight people in the mosque had been shot, including two of his friends.
Police have urged people not to share the footage that the shooter posted of the shooting.
Police are aware there is extremely distressing footage relating to the incident in Christchurch circulating online. We would strongly urge that the link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed.
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019
Janine Richmond, a practice manager at the Linwood Dental Centre, said she had heard about 20 shots come from Linwood mosque at around 1:45 p.m., Stuff.co.nz reported.
It remains unclear how many people may have been killed and how many have been injured.
Police have confirmed that one suspect is currently in custody, but that they believe that there may be other offenders after the shootings.
1/5 Police is responding to a very serious and tragic incident involving an active shooter in central Christchurch. One person is in custody, however Police believe there may be other offenders…. This is an evolving incident and we are working to confirm the facts…
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 15, 2019
Police have not described the scale of the Friday shooting but urged people in central Christchurch to stay indoors.
UPDATE – SERIOUS FIREARMS INCIDENT IN CENTRAL
由 New Zealand Police 发布于 2019年3月14日周四
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to the media after news of the two shootings broke. She told the media, “What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand.
“Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities—New Zealand is their home—they are us. The person who has committed this violent act has no place here.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is speaking to media after a shooting at a mosque in Christchurch. https://t.co/3ifEwbUcds
— SBS News (@SBSNews) March 15, 2019
The person who has committed this violent act has no place here. To those in Christchurch; I encourage you to stay inside and follow the instructions of @nzpolice. The Police Commissioner will be making a public statement at 5pm. I will update everyone again later this evening.
— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) March 15, 2019
More to come.
BREAKING: A gunman entered a mosque and began shooting with an automatic weapon in New Zealand’s city of Christchurch.
For more on the ‘active shooter’ situation: https://t.co/nGyALTPYhg https://t.co/ETUGfMcHDV
— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) March 15, 2019
With reporting by The Associated Press