- Surviors of the mass shootings in two mosques in New Zealand have spoken about the attacks, which killed at least 49 people.
- They escaped through windows, hid under benches, or managed to run outside as at least one gunman opened fire in two mosques.
- They described “piles of bodies,” and said they saw dead children.
- New Zealand’s prime minister described Friday as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
Survivors of terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, have recounted the moment a gunman entered during their prayers and killed at least 49 people on Friday.
One man who was at one of the the mosques told CNN that he prayed the gunman would “run out of bullets.”
“I was thinking that he must run out bullets you know, so what I did was basically waiting and praying to God, oh God please let this guy run out of bullets,” he said.
He said that another a man told him to remain still as the gunman shot him “straight in the chest.”
One witness, who did not want to be named, told CNN that he saw a man with his "3 or 4-year-old daughter" who had been shot in the back. He said he was driving and pulled over beside the mosque when he saw people lying on the ground outside.
"He was screaming like get her to the hospital and the ambulance couldn't come in until it was secured so I just got my truck and loaded up him, and his daughter, and this other guy had been shot in the leg, and took them to the hospital," he said.
Another witness who did not want to be named told CNN that he was in the bathroom when shooting started and he smashed a window to escape.
Mohan Ibrahim told the BBC that he escaped the attack by climbing out of a window. "It was 10-15 minutes of continuous shooting, it was so loud," he said.
Noor Hamzah, 54, told the New Zealand Herald that he ran outside with other when the shooting started, and hid behind some cars.
He said he looked inside the windows when police arrievd and saw "piles of bodies".
Hamzah, who had blood on his clothes from helpng the injured, the Herald reported. "I can't imagine something like this happening at all. It hasn't sunk into my head yet," he said.
"I think I'll go into shock over the next couple of days. I hope I am strong enough."
Mohan Ibrahim told the Herald that he was praying in the Masjid Al Noor mosque when the shooting began. "A lot of people have been killed and many are injured. I can see a girl dead in the middle of the road," he said.
41 people were killed in the Al Noor mosque, and another seven were killed at a mosque in Linwood, 3.5 miles to the east. One person died in Christchurch hopsital, where 48 others are being treated for gunshot wounds.
Idris Khairuddin, 14, told the Herald that he thought the gunshots were "construction work or something" at first, but then "people were all running and screaming." He said that around six people that he knew had been shot, including his uncle.
Prime Minsiter Jacinda Ardern and described Friday as "one of New Zealand's darkest days."
One man has been charged while three men and one woman have been taken into custody by law enforcement officers, police said.
Read more:
What we know so far about the suspects in the New Zealand mosque shootings
