stuff new zealand: Heroic worshippers tried to stop terror attacks at Christchurch mosques

A Christchurch man who tried to stop the gunman who opened fire in a mosque packed with worshippers is being remembered as a hero. Naeem Rashid, 50, originally from the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, was in the Deans Ave mosque with his 21-year-old son, Talha Naeem, for Friday prayers. His sister-in-law, Naema Khan, said video of the shooting showed Rashid approach and try to stop the gunman, who indiscriminately opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. “When [Rashid] attacked him, he shot him,” Khan said. [more…]

guardian: ‘My heart and soul is in grief’: Muslims in Christchurch mourn victims of massacre

In the wake of the worst mass killing in the nation’s history, New Zealanders have rallied around the shocked community [more…]