Christchurch mosque hero tackled gunman and grabbed weapon after he opened fire

Posted by admin On March 16, 2019 0 Comment

Syed Mazharuddin pictured above witnessed the event unfoldingA heroic bystander tackled a gunman and grabbed his weapon after he opened fire at worshippers at a mosque in New Zealand.

Syed Mazharuddin witnessed the terrifying moment at Christchurch’s Linwood Mosque during a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of seven people.Mazharuddin said the gunman entered the mosque and began shooting indiscriminately at worshippers, causing them to flee.”People got feared and there was screaming around and I tried to take cover,” he told the New Zealand Herald .”By the time I took cover this guy came through the main entrance door and it’s a small mosque – there were about 60-70 people there.“Just around the entrance door there were elderly people sitting there praying and he just started shooting at them.”

a man looking at the camera: Syed said the young man stole the gunman's weapon © NZ Herald Syed said the young man stole the gunman’s weapon. A young man who worked at the mosque bravely saw his opportunity and pounced on the shooter, taking his gun in the process.

“The hero tried to chase and he couldn’t find the trigger in the gun … he ran behind him but there were people waiting for him in the car and he fled.”

The fate of the unnamed hero is unclear but Mazharuddin said two of his friends died in the attack.

Armed officers at the scene

Armed officers at the scene“I ran out and then the police came and they didn’t let me come back in again so I couldn’t save my friend, he was bleeding heavily,” he said.

“It took almost half an hour, more than half an hour by the time the ambulance could arrive and I think he must have died.” Slide 26 of 26: Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. A witness says many people have been killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)