Terrorism knows no bounds…..
And seeks the media exposure throughout the world as its one-two punch…..
Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a terrorist attack that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.”
• Officials said that one man in his late 20s had been charged with murder, and that two explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle that they had stopped.
• A Muslim leader in New Zealand said the attack was especially shocking as it took place around Friday Prayer. The police urged people to stay away from the mosques until further notice.
• A gunman streamed a live video of the attack on Facebook, and he appeared to have posted a manifesto online.
Two mosques are attacked
Shots were fired at Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in the center of the city and at Linwood Mosque, about three miles away, the police said.
The country’s police commissioner, Mike Bush, said in an evening news conference that 41 people had been killed at Al Noor Mosque and seven at Linwood Mosque, and that another victim had died at Christchurch Hospital.
David Meates, the chief executive of the Canterbury District Health Board, said that 48 people, including young children, were being treated for injuries at the hospital. He said the injuries included gunshot wounds and ranged from critical to minor.
The police said that four people, including three men and one woman, had been taken into custody. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia said that one of them was Australian.
Mr. Bush said that a man in his late 20s had been charged with murder and would appear in Christchurch court on Saturday morning. A number of firearms were recovered from the scenes of the shootings, he said.
Of the three others who were detained, the police commissioner said that one might have had nothing to do with the attack and that the police were working to determine how the other two might have been involved.
Ms. Ardern said earlier that none of those detained were on security watch lists….
image….New Zealand flag at half-mass…Marty Melville/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Islamic communities across the United States were on heightened alert Friday on the heels of horrific mass shootings at a pair of New Zealand mosques said to be orchestrated by a white supremacist targeting Muslims.
Law enforcement officials in a host of major cities — including New York, Houston and Washington, D.C. — bolstered security at regional mosques and other Islamic centers; congressional lawmakers pronounced their solidarity with America’s Muslims; and Islamic leaders across the country urged vigilance, but also defiance, as the apparent hate crime sent shockwaves around the globe….
More….
Local police have assigned patrol cars to standby in front of the mosques around my way and in New York City during prayer times….