Prince William meets with 5-year-old Christchurch shooting victim, Alen Alsati

Friday, 26 April 2019

Prince William met with one of the youngest victims of the Christchurch shooting attack while he was in Auckland.

On Thursday evening, Kensington Palace posted on social media that Prince William had met with 5-year-old Alen Alsati and her family, along with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

They met with her at her bedside at Auckland's Starship Hospital.

Alen has undergone a number of surgeries after she was shot three times at Al Noor mosque on March 15.

**READ MORE:

* Prince William in Christchurch to meet attack survivors, after surprising kids in hospital

* Four-year-old victim of Christchurch mosque shooting suffering brain damage

* Father shot during mosque massacres flown to Auckland to be closer to daughter**

Her father, Wasseim Alsati, earlier told Stuff she had sustained brain damage as a result of the attack.

It will be six months before doctors know how bad the damage is, he said.

In a short video posted by Kensington Palace, Alen can be heard asking Prince William if he has a daughter.

He replies, 'yeah, she's called Charlotte… she's about the same age as you'. 

Prince William is in New Zealand to meet with victims and first responders of the terror attack, on behalf of the Queen.

On Thursday, he was in Auckland and attended the 11am Anzac Day civic service at Auckland War Memorial Museum.

During his visit to Starship, Prince William also met with another patient, 7-year-old Kellan Easton.

With a buzz in the room, the Duke knelt down to speak with Kellan, commenting on his space invader pyjamas and asking him how he was feeling.

Mother Mel Easton described the whole experience as 'precious'.

Following the Anzac service, Prince William flew down to Christchurch where he met with police and St John staff.

He is expected to continue meeting victims and the wider Muslim community on Friday.