NZ shooting

been well planned.”

Two IEDS (improvised explosive devices) were found in a car and neutralised by the military, police said.

Speaking in Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the gunman as “an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist”.

His two targets were the Masjid al Noor mosque, where 41 people died, and a second, smaller mosque in the suburb of Linwood, where seven more died. The remaining victim succumbed in hospital.

The dead were said to include women and children. Around 48 people were treated for gunshot wounds at Christchurch Hospital, including young children, with injuries ranging from critical to minor.

The survivors included 17 members of Bangladesh’s cricket team, whose game against New Zealand on Saturday has been postponed, and a Palestinian man who fled for his life after seeing someone being shot in the head.

India’s High Commission in New Zealand said that any Indian national affected by the attacks can contact the mission for assistance.

Expressing shock over the incident, the mission tweeted two contact numbers 021803899 and 021850033 for providing assistance.

“I heard three quick shots, then after about 10 seconds it started again. It must have been an automatic — no one could pull a trigger that quick,” the man who did not wish to be named, told AFP.

“Then people started running out. Some were covered in blood,” he said.

New Zealand police described the footage shot by the gunman as “extremely distressing” and warned web users that they could be liable for up to 10 years in jail for sharing such “objectionable content”.

In addition to the footage, a number of pictures were posted to a social media account showing a semi-automatic weapon covered in the names of historical figures, many of whom were involved in the killing of Muslims.

The attack has shocked New Zealanders, who are used to seeing around 50 murders a year in the entire country of 4.8 million and pride themselves on living in a secure and welcoming place.

National carrier Air New Zea- land canceled at least 17 flights in and out of Christchurch, saying it couldn’t properly screen customers and their baggage following the shootings.

Police, who initially imposed a city-wide lockdown, sent armed officers to a number of scenes and the threat level in the nation was raised from “low” to “high”.

Police warned Muslims all over the country not to visit mosques “anywhere in New Zealand” in the wake of the Christchurch attacks.

‘BODIES ALL OVER’

The attack has shocked the local Muslim population, many of whom had come to New Zealand as refugees.

The Ardern government has been vocal in its support for opening the doors to those suffering from wars in Syria, Afghanistan and beyond. Last year, the prime minister announced the country would boost its annual refugee quota from 1,000 to 1,500 starting in 2020. Ardern, whose party campaigned on the promise of raising the intake of refugees, called the planned increase “the right thing to do.”

One witness told stuff.co.nz he was praying when he heard shooting — and then saw his wife lying dead on the footpath outside when he fled.

Another man said he saw children being shot.

“There were bodies all over,” he said.

The Bangladesh cricket team — which had been in Christchurch for a test match and was about to go into the mosque when the attack happened — all escaped without injury.

Batsman Tamim Iqbal tweeted “entire team got saved from active shooters. Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers.”

The attacks sparked horror and revulsion around the world.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed India’s strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and of all those who support such acts of violence. He said hatred and violence have no place in diverse and democratic societies.

US President Donald Trump condemned the “horrible massacre” in which “innocent people have so senselessly died”.

Mass shootings are very rare in New Zealand, which tightened its gun laws to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles in 1992, two years after a mentally ill man shot dead 13 people in the South Island town of Aramoana.