Father shielded son from multiple bullets
A father shielded his 2-year-old son from bullets in the Linwood mosque attack, saving him from serious injury.
Zulfirman Syah was shot multiple times while protecting his son on Friday and is in Christchurch Hospital.
His son, Averroes, is in hospital with minor injuries to his leg and had surgery to remove shrapnel on Saturday. He is the youngest injured victim of the mass shooting.
Syah’s wife, named on a GoFundMe page for the family as Alta Sacra, declined to comment but posted online about her husband’s heroism on Saturday.
‘‘My husband . . . shielded our son during the attack at Linwood Islamic Centre, which caused him to receive most of the bullets and much more complex injuries than our son. He is in stable condition following the extensive exploratory and reconstructive surgery he had earlier today [Saturday],’’ Sacra said.
‘‘While he is still in the intensive care unit at this stage, he will be moved to the general ward whenever it is deemed appropriate . . . while the road to recovery will be long, his condition has only improved since he arrived at the hospital yesterday.’’
She said their son was ‘‘recovering nicely and has been cheerful while keeping the staff on the children’s ward entertained with his talkative and energetic nature’’.
Yesterday, Sacra posted that her son was still in hospital but doing well. ‘‘Our little guy, Averroes, is also doing quite well but there has not been a hospital discharge date set yet. It is hard to keep this energetic 2-year-old down,’’ she posted on Facebook.
She said her husband was still in Christchurch Hospital’s Surgical Progressive Care Unit but ‘‘continues to make progress daily’’.
‘‘We don’t have an estimate as to when he will be transferred on to the ward . . . but everything is looking positive. Once again, we are grateful for the endless stream of support we have received.
‘‘The medical care has been top-notch and we will be forever grateful to each person who has had any hand in easing the difficulties of this situation.’’