A woman who was abused by the Rotherham grooming gang has condemned the New Zea​land terror attack, after it emerged the gunman had the words “for Rotherham” written on his ammunition.

The words are believed to reference the sexual abuse of 1,400 children in the South Yorkshire town between the late 1980s and 2013.

Sammy Woodhouse, who was raped by Arshid Hussain, one of the men in the gang, and who waived her right to anonymity in an effort to help other victims of sexual abuse, said the shootings in two mosques on Friday was an “evil act” and “not done in our name”.

“My thoughts go out to all the victims killed today in New Zealand,” she said on Twitter.

“Such an evil act. As a Rotherham survivor, I would like to add a message from me and my family. This was not done in our name.”

New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Show all 11 1 /11 New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Zakaria Bhuiyan People gather hoping to find out information about Zakaria Bhuiyan who is still missing after the mosques shootings in Christchurch. David Moir/AFP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Mucad Ibrahim Three-year-old Mucad Ibrahim, the youngest known victim of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. Abdi Ibrahim via AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Nadeem Rasheed Nadeem Rasheed, brother of Pakistani Naeem Rashid who died alongside his son Talha Naeem, 21, who were killed in shooting at a Mosque in Christchurch, at their home town in Abbottabad, EPA New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Omar Nabi Omar Nabi speaks to the media about losing his father Haji Daoud Nabi, 71, in the mosque attack REUTERS New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Ash Mohammed Ash Mohammed, right, talks to a police officer about his father and two brothers who are missing near the Masjid Al Noor mosque AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Akhtar Khokhur Akhtar Khokhur, 58, shows a picture of her missing husband Mehaboobbhai Khokhar, 65. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Wasseim Alsati A note is seen on a window of a door at the family home of Wasseim Alsati in Christchurch on 17 March 2019. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Haroon Mahmood Relatives offer condolences to nephew (centre) of Haroon Mahmood, a Pakistani citizen who was killed in Christchurch mosque shootings. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Farid Ahmed Farid Ahmed (pictured) survived the Al Noor mosque shootings but his wife Husne was killed. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Syed Areeb Ahmed A relative shows a picture of Syed Areeb Ahmed, a Pakistani citizen who was killed the Christchurch mosque shooting. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Naeem Rashid A relative looks at a picture on a mobile phone of Pakistani nationals Naeem Rashid and his son Talha Naeem (right) who died in the Christchurch shootings. AFP/Getty Images

Brenton Tarrant, the suspected gunman, shot and killed 49 people during the attack, which was carried out at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday.

A picture of an ammunition clip he allegedly posted to Twitter before the attack showed the words “for Rotherham” written on it.

The message could also be seen in video footage of the shooting, which was broadcast live on Facebook.

The 28-year-old claimed to be inspired by extreme-right wing organisations and white supremacist ideology, in a “manifesto” posted online.

His reference to the Rotherham scandal was likely driven by the fact around 80 per cent of the gang suspects are of Pakistani heritage, with the remainder a mixture of white British and other races.

Posting on Twitter, Chris Read, the leader of Rotherham Council, distanced the town from the the gunman’s “sick ideology”.

“Awful news from Christchurch this morning,” he wrote, on Saturday.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected, and of course first and foremost with the Muslim community.

“All decent people will be revolted by the sickening ideology of those who seek to divide us.

“That the perpetrator of this violence apparently sought in some twisted way to use our town’s history to justify his actions makes this personal to us.”

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He added: “Rotherham has already seen far too much violence.

“Our community will continue to stand united for decency and the rule of law.”