Jordanian killed, eight injured in New Zealand mosque attacks

AMMAN — A Jordanian was killed and eight others were injured when a terrorist shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques.

One Jordanian was killed and eight others were injured during the terrorist attacks in New Zealand on Friday, Sufian Qudai, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement to The Jordan Times.

He said the ministry was following up on the conditions of the injured.

A terrorist shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques, some as they were kneeling at prayer, livestreaming online some of the killings that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism, according to Reuters.

The terrorist broadcast footage of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch on Facebook, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants, calling them “invaders”, according to Reuters.

The video footage widely circulated on social media, apparently taken by a terrorist and posted online live as the attack unfolded, showed him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.

Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay huddled on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the footage.

It was the worst ever mass killing in New Zealand which raised its security threat level to the highest, Ardern said, adding that “this can now only be described as a terrorist attack”, the news agency reported.