Dark day in New Zealand: Shooting in Christchurch kills 49

Earlier today, a massive blow was dealt with the peace-loving communities of our world. A mass shooting which took place at 2 mosques in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand, which claimed the lives of more than 49 innocent civilians. What is even more disturbing is the fact that the gunman had live streamed the attack he carried out, on Facebook, for over 17 minutes. World leaders and Sri Lankans took to social media to condemn this heinous crime and have offered to stand by New Zealand during this dark period. Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera took to Twitter to offer their condolences. Among other world leaders, Her Majesty the Queen of England, U.S President Donald Trump and Pakistan PM Imran Khan expressed their shared grief over this terrorist attack. https://twitter.com/RW_UNP/status/1106429904214614017 https://twitter.com/PresRajapaksa/status/1106424584033566721 https://twitter.com/MangalaLK/status/1106428156486000640 https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1106508372780691457 https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1106444958423281669 Prime Minister of New Zealand expressing his views regarding the incident had this to say, "What I can say is that it is clear that this is one of New Zealand's darkest days. Clearly, what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence. Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand. There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this act was." Another fact which caught the attention of the masses is the fact that the Bangladesh Cricket Team who is on a tour in New Zealand, had arrived at Christchurch's Masjid al Noor mosque a short while after the shooting was carried out. Subsequently, it was decided to

abandon the rest of the matches between New Zealand and Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh cricket team was also in the vicinity of the shooting but all members were safe and unhurt, a team coach told media. A reporter following the Bangladesh cricket team, who are currently in New Zealand, tweeted that the team had "escaped from a mosque near Hagley Park where there were active shooters". This mass shooting is considered the most fatal shooting to have occurred in New Zealand, after the year 1990.