49 people killed, 48 other wounded in terrorist attack in New Zealand

SANAA, March 15 (YPA) – At least 49 people were killed and 48 seriously injured in attacks on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, in what is now the worst ever mass shooting in New Zealand history, World News reported.

The incident is a terrorist attack, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during a press conference,  stressing that the suspects held “extremist views” that have no place in New Zealand or the world.

Ardern described the attack as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.

“What has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” she said, adding that the attackers have “no place in New Zealand.”

A number of improvised explosives were found attached to the assailants’ vehicles, but it is not clear whether they were planning a suicide attack. The explosives were then defused.

Four people were taken into custody, three men and one woman, in connection with the attacks.

E.M