In an act of solidarity and symbolism to the Muslim community inside participating in Friday prayer, New Zealanders gathered by the hundreds to create a human chain outside a mosque. In Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday, people gathered outside the Kilbirnie Mosque in a quiet and moving show of support for the Wellington Islamic Community. The gathering took place one week after mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, left at least 50 people dead. Images and videos of the human chain circulated on social media, showing how far it reached:

Human chain forming around Wellington mosque before Friday prayer pic.twitter.com/L7shSP4Niw — Veronika Meduna (@VeronikaMeduna) March 22, 2019

#Wellington in solidarity in their hundreds at #kilbirnie#mosque as #NewZealand remembers the #ChristchurchMosqueAttack with a human chain around the entire block the mosque is in and two minutes of silence today #StrongerTogether#arohapic.twitter.com/rz8yQmuuKn — Sue Teodoro (@SueTeodoro) March 22, 2019

The human chain outside Wellington Islamic Centre. Beautiful. @rnz_newspic.twitter.com/rsOYnIxnvW — Charlie Dreaver (@CharlieDreaver) March 22, 2019

“The atmosphere was sad, quiet, but determined,” Sue Teodoro, who was at the vigil, told CNN. “Many women wore headscarves. Many people cried openly. It was incredibly moving. People were determined that the community should pray without fear today.” Teodoro later told the publication that “the message from the community was clear: Terrorists will not break New Zealand’s spirit.” Earlier this week, Christchurch locals also formed a human chain in support of Muslim worshippers in front of the Al Noor mosque.

I’m not ashamed to admit I wept at this scene tonight — Christchurch locals forming a human chain behind Muslims as they perform maghrib prayers in front of the Al Noor mosque, where so many died. It was utterly beautiful pic.twitter.com/6CjKAi4ir6 — Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) March 20, 2019