A view of the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in Christchurch, New Zealand (REUTERS/SNPA/Martin Hunter )

One armed congregant pursued the gunmen who opened fire during Friday prayer at his mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, firing two shots at them as they sped away, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The unnamed man went home to retrieve his gun when the shooting broke out before returning to the Linwood mosque to engage the shooter. He reportedly told the police he was acting in “self defense.”


At least 49 people were killed and 48 injured during shootings at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. The Linwood mosque shooting claimed seven lives while a second shooting, at the Al Noor mosque, resulted in 41 dead.

Police also found improvised explosive devices attached to two vehicles outside of one of the mosques.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the attacks but just one man, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, has been charged with murder. Tarrant live-streamed part of his attack on the Al Noor mosque, creating a sickening 17-minute video that has been widely distributed on social media. Prior to the attack, Tarrant also published a 87-page manifesto on Twitter that is rife with white-nationalist propaganda.

It remains unclear whether the other three people, one of whom police have said is likely uninvolved in the attack, will be charged.

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