Two Jordanians killed, eight injured in New Zealand terrorist attack

 AMMAN — Two Jordanians were killed and eight others were injured when a gunman shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques.

Two Jordanians were killed and eight others were injured during the terrorist attacks in New Zealand on Friday, Sufian Qudah, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement to The Jordan Times.

He said the ministry was following up on the conditions of the injured.

A gunman shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques, some as they were kneeling at prayer, livestreaming online some of the killings that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism, according to Reuters.

His Majesty King Abdullah condemned the massacre.

“The heinous massacre against Muslims praying in peace in New Zealand is an appalling terrorist crime. It unites us against extremism, hatred and terrorism, which knows no religion,” King Abdullah said in a tweet on his official Twitter account.

“May the victims’ souls rest in peace. Our condolences to the families and our Islamic Ummah,” the King said in the tweet.

Also Friday, Minister of State Minister for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat voiced Jordan's rejection of terrorism and assaulting those living in peace and places of worship.
“Such heinous terrorist acts require intensified international efforts to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations at the intellectual and security levels,” said the minister.

The gunman broadcast footage of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch on Facebook, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants, calling them “invaders”, according to Reuters.

The video footage widely circulated on social media, apparently taken by a gunman and posted online live as the attack unfolded, showed him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.

Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay huddled on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the footage.

It was the worst ever mass killing in New Zealand which raised its security threat level to the highest, Ardern said, adding that “this can now only be described as a terrorist attack”, the news agency reported.