‘It’s a real kick in the guts for a city that has already suffered’

Scottish expat Gail Ross, who lives in Christchurch, says the tragic massacre in her adopted home has left people in “deep shock”.

The 64-year-old, originally from Renfrew near Glasgow, emigrated to New Zealand nearly 40 years ago.

“I haven’t seen people so shocked and utterly dismayed and traumatised since the earthquake in 2011 when so many people lost their lives,” she said.

“It is a real kick in the guts to a city which is still very much in recovery.

“This is giving us an understanding of how it must have felt when the terror attacks happened in cities like London and Paris.

“There is such an enormous wave of sympathy and support for the Muslims in Christchurch, many of whom chose to come here as refugees thinking they were coming to a safe place at last. Christchurch has changed a lot and become multicultural over the years.

“Because of the earthquake, many people here are still getting over the psychological effects and are focusing on trying to get a home or battling with insurance companies.

“I think the people who did this have kind of flown under the radar in a way they might not have been able to do if the city had been ticking along as usual.”

Ms Ross experienced the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked Christchurch in 2011, killing 185 people and prompting the New Zealand government to issue a national state of emergency.

“Attention has been centred on the centre of the city and trying to rebuild and things which might have been picked up on perhaps were not,” Ms Ross said.

“It’s not unusual to see right-wing groups doing their hate crime speeches in the square in front of Christchurch Cathedral, but it’s been brushed under the carpet. They even had a demonstration around December or January, but people just wished they’d go away.

“People are questioning why those involved in this incident weren’t on a watch list. There have been New Zealanders who’ve gone over to join Isis, but whatever government is in power I don’t think the intelligence services get enough funding and the focus has tended to be on border control.

“It was always predicted there could be some sort of terror attack at some stage, but we always expected it would come from Isis rather than the extreme right wing.

“They dress it up as freedom of expression, but it’s really freedom to hate.”

“It’s not unusual to see right-wing groups doing their hate crime speeches ... but it’s been brushed under the carpet” GAIL ROSS Christchurch resident