Women forced to listen to their loved ones being killed during Christchurch massacre
The heartbroken friends and family of those killed in Christchurch mosque massacre have revealed how they had to listen to the gunshots ring out, killing their loved ones.
Amber Naeem lost her 21-year-old son, Tahla Naeem, and husband Naeem Rashid, who was shot while trying to overpower the gunman during a terrorist attack on two mosques which left 50 people were killed and dozens more injured.
Australian man Brenton Tarrant was later arrested and charged with murder over the shootings.
Ms Naeem was one of 30 odd women and children trapped in another prayer room which the alleged attacker didn’t know about during the terrorist attack.
They could only listen in fear as their loved ones were gunned down one after the other.
Ms Naeem has shared her grief on 7News as she fought back tears.
“He was 21 years old… but an innocent soul,” Ms Naeem said.
She said her heroic son purposely fell onto another young man when he was hit in a bid to protect him.
“The person was trying to move and he said in his ears ‘don’t, don’t move, stay still… he wanted to save him’.”
Her husband, a Pakistani born teacher, will now be awarded posthumously in his home country for his courage, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Sunday.
“Pakistan is proud of Mian Naeem Rashid who was martyred trying to tackle the terrorist and his courage will be recognised with a national award,” Khan tweeted on Sunday.
His heroism was captured in his alleged killer’s horrific livestream video. It was footage, his wife reluctantly watched.
“At first I didn’t want to tall anyone that it was Naeem, but then yes I see it and it was him,” Ms Naeem explained.
Rashid’s elder brother Khurshid Alam said that in the northwestern Pakistani city of Abbottabad that the award “means a lot” to his family.
“I feel very proud,” he said, calling the loss of his brother and nephew a “big, big shock”.
Despite the devastation of losing half her family, Ms Naeem says she takes some peace knowing her loved ones died in prayer.
For the 17 minutes of terror, two pregnant women hid in a bathroom, listening to the shots, knowing their husbands were also in the other room.
Another lady ran out on to the street to check on her paraplegic husband and was gunned down in the street.
Families prepare to lay loved ones to rest
As relatives prepare to bury those killed in a terror attack on two Christchurch mosques, many across the New Zealand city are set to return to their jobs and schools.
Police say heavily armed officers and helicopters that have patrolled the city for days will remain deployed as residents return for their first work day after the massacre left 50 dead and another 50 hurt.
“The public wants to go back to school, work, their recreational activities,” Police Commissioner Mike Bush said.
“It’s the role of New Zealand police to enable people to do that.”
Meanwhile, with authorities planning to release bodies after families were called in to see the dead on Sunday night, burials are expected to begin shortly.
Mr Bush told media that police were highly aware of concerns among some in the Muslim community that the time taken to examine the bodies has prevented the swift burials called for under Islam.
“So we are doing that as quickly and as sensitively as possible,” he said.
Tarrant, who grew up in the New South Wales town of Grafton, has been charged with murder over the attacks and will be prosecuted in New Zealand.
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