'He had a big gun and lots of bullets' - Witness describes Christchurch mosque shooting

Friday, 15 March 2019

A man who was inside the Christchurch Mosque on Deans Ave has described the gunman as wearing a military-style outfit and carrying 'hundreds' of rounds.

The Deans Avenue mosque was one of two in the city where fatal shootings took place. One person has so far been arrested, but police believe there may be other offenders involved.

In interview with Stuff soon after the attack, Ahmad Al-Mahmoud of the congregation said the man had 'a big gun and lots of of bullets'.

'He came through and started shooting everyone in the mosque, like everywhere,' he said.

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Al-Mahmoud said he didn't get a good look at the gunman, but saw he was wearing a helmet.

He estimated at least 50 shots were fired and the gunman had several magazines worth of bullets with him.

'It could be hundreds [of rounds].'

Wrapping his bleeding hand in a towel, Al-Mahmoud said he had cut it by punching through glass to escape the mosque.

'I had to smash the door, the glass from the window and from the door to get everyone out.

'We were trying to get everyone to run away from this area, but we couldn't open the door for everyone.'

Al-Mahmoud escaped by running through the carpark and jumping the back fence into neighbouring property.