Bodies of the fallen soon to go home
Rescue workers reflect on horror of attack and pride at helping prevent more deaths
Grieving families will start to farewell victims of the Christchurch shooting in the next few days, with some opting for a mass funeral while others may repatriate loved ones to other countries.
Fifty people died after a lone gunman stormed two mosques on Friday afternoon. Families have been waiting patiently for their bodies to be released — it is tradition for Muslim burial to happen as quickly as possible after death.
Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha said police were aware families wanted bodies back quickly and police were trying to make that happen.
The first body was meant to be released on Sunday, but that was put on hold so it could be released with a second dead body.
He said police were aiming to have bodies released mid-week.
Yesterday blessings were carried out by Nga¯i Tahu and Muslim community leaders at each of the mosques. Haumaha said the blessings gave people confidence that the mosques could be reopened by the end of the week for prayers.
The president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ, Mustafa Farouk, praised the work that had taken place.
“We are saddened by what took place, we are shocked, but as a community we are a resilient community. We know we are living in a country where we are welcome, that loves us.”
He said right-wing extremism had wanted to bring hatred and division to New Zealand communities — but they had “failed woefully”.
“What they have done, if anything, has increased the love and feeling we have for our country, and the tremendous outpouring of love, aroha, in New Zealand.”
Work continued to support loved ones, and the process of burial was now the focus, he said.
“Many people are involved . . . from the Prime Minister to the person on the street to make sure we give these people dignified, spiritual burials.”
Dozens of others were badly injured during the shootings.
As of yesterday 31 people remained in hospital, nine of whom were in a critical condition.
A 4-year-old in Starship children’s hospital is also in a critical condition while her father, who is in Auckland City Hospital, is serious but stable.
Many New Zealanders are now struggling to deal with the horror of what unfolded.
The Ministry of Health said calls to the 1737 helpline had surged.
Just over 540 contacts were made on Sunday and a further 300 yesterday though text, online chats and phone calls — the average length of which was 38 minutes.
Yesterday some of the St John Ambulance staff who responded to the terrorist attack spoke of the
We [had] to lift the bodies over the top of other bodies.
Ambulance officer Paul Bennett
horrific conditions they saw — and the pride they felt from being part of an efficient response that is believed to have saved lives.
Ambulance officer Paul Bennett didn’t go into the mosque on Deans Ave, but approached the entrance under the protection of armed police.
“We tried to get our stretcher into the mosque but we couldn’t because there were fatalities in the way. We ended up having to lift the bodies over the top of other bodies on to stretchers,” he said.
Jason Watson, an ICU paramedic who was organising logistics on the ground said: “A good half of the patients going into the [ambulances] I expected to die within an hour.”
The fact that only one had was an “incredible” testament to the work done by the ambulance officers.
Paramedic Karen Jackson arrived at the mosque on Linwood Ave with armed police.
She said it was an intense situation as the shooter was still at large.
“Bodies on the floor. The walking wounded were not there, so everyone was either already deceased or very critical . . .”
All staff speaking to media talked about the need to process the traumatic events of Friday.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the criminal investigation was the largest ever undertaken by NZ police.
He said 250 detectives and specialists across the country were working on the investigation, with support coming from various international
agencies including the FBI and Australian Federal Police.
Bush said police believed only one person was responsible for “this horrendous event”, despite there being two scenes. He didn’t however rule out others supporting the shooter and said that was part of inquiries that were still being made.
Brenton Tarrant has been charged with murder following the shootings. The 28-year-old appeared in court on Saturday where he was remanded in custody without plea until April 5.
Yesterday an 18-year-old accused of sharing a livestream of the mass shooting also appeared in court and was refused bail.
He faces two charges: one of sharing the livestream and a second for posting a photograph of one of the mosques attacked with the message “target acquired” along with other chat messages “inciting extreme violence”.
Police have said the teen — who was granted name suppression — was not involved in the shootings.