New Zealand Mosque Shooting: Several Dead As Gunmen Live Stream Killings

Update: 05:12 a.m. EDT - The death toll in the shooting at the two Christchurch mosques has risen to 49, New Zeland Police Commissioner Mike Bush said. Most of them died at the Deans Avenue mosque. One person has been charged with murder; four had earlier been taken into custody.

Update: 04:30 a.m. EDT - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed one of the people in custody is an Australia-born citizen. Australian media has identified the man who was visible in the livestream of the attack as Brenton Tarrant, who is in his late 20s, from Grafton.

Update: 02:33 a.m. EDT - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that 40 people died in the attack. She also called it a terror attack.

Also read: PweDiePie 'sickened' by attacker's reference to him

UPDATE 1:21a.m. EDT -- Social media platforms Facebook and Youtube have released statements confirming that both have deleted the videos of the shooting spreading on their sites.

Previous reports confirm that one gunman has streamed the mass shooting on his account while some users have shared the videos on different sites. According to Mia Garlick from Facebook New Zealand, the company is also removing any form of "praise or report for the crime."

UPDATE 12:53a.m. EDT -- Four suspects now in custody -- three men and one woman. The death toll has yet to be confirmed, but reports suggest dozens of fatalities and injuries. The shootings happened in two mosques -- one at Deans Avenue and one at Linwood Avenue.

UPDATE 12:11a.m.EDT -- A video posted on Twitter shows Christchurch policemen rammed what appears to be one of the shooting suspect's car and one man apprehended on the ground.

UPDATE 11:15p.m. EDT -- Police say the shootings happened in two mosques in Christchurch and have one suspect in custody.

Police commissioner Mike Bush has urged all muslims in the country to stay indoors, until further notice. "Close your doors until you hear from us again," he added.

Original story:

Police in Christchurch, New Zealand are frantically searching for two or more men who shot dead six or more people at two Christchurch Mosques on Deans Avenue in Christchurch City.

They said the gunmen, who were in a car, opened fire at worshippers gathered for Friday Prayers outside the Christchurch Mosque near Hagley Park. A witness leaving near the church said a lot of of people were praying at the mosque at the time of the shooting, according to the New Zealand news website Stuff.

A witness said he saw a car chasing the people along Deans Avenue and the people in the car started shooting at them. Another witness said he heard multiple gunshots.

"I heard 20 or more gunshots I thought something happened and the people were running on the other side of Deans Avenue and now I can see so many police,” he said.

Mohammed Jama, former president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury, said a man with a gun entered the mosque about 1.40 pm on Friday (8:40 p.m. ET Thursday). He saw four people injured and two people on the ground. He didn’t know if these persons were alive or dead.

Another witness said he saw three seriously injured people on the doorstep of the mosque.

Police have cleared Cathedral Square, where thousands of children gathered at a rally to protest climate change. They urged anyone in central Christchurch to stay indoors and report any suspicious behavior immediately to 111.

A person at the scene said armed police are searching for someone in North Hagley Park. Another saw police on the corner of Lester Lane and Deans Avenue.

Lisa Davies, a resident of Christchurch, told ABC, “It's just a continuous stream of sirens".

"We've probably seen 10 ambulances,” she said. “I've lost count of the number of police cars, but obviously all the police on these cordons are heavily armed and trying to keep the public out of the scene, keep them safe until they know exactly what's happened here, and that they've managed to apprehended the alleged gunman.”

The Bangladesh cricket team has narrowly escaped the shooting as well, after arriving at the Al Noor Mosque for prayer. All the members of the team are safe but are requesting to return back home "as soon as possible" after the incident.

Some reports suggest the shooting was streamed online by one of the gunmen, with the graphic videos making their rounds online. A manifesto of the shooter has also been released online, although its authenticity has yet to be confirmed.