Mass shootings at two mosques full of worshipers attending Friday prayers killed 49 people on what the prime minister called “one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” as authorities detained four people and defused explosive devices in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack.
New Zealand Mosque Attacks
![A view of the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in Christchurch, New Zealand, taken in 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/3b41ee73-db48-4eb0-99fa-d4db1e8dc740_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A view of the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in Christchurch, New Zealand, taken in 2014.
![A police officer patrols at a cordon near a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, March 15, 2019. Multiple people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of worshipers attending Friday prayers.](https://gdb.voanews.com/fcb11f8f-d22c-43df-ada2-8e2945a8f316_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A police officer patrols at a cordon near a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, March 15, 2019. Multiple people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of worshipers attending Friday prayers.
![Pakistanis protest to condemn the New Zealand mosque shooting, in Karachi, Pakistan, March 15, 2019.](https://gdb.voanews.com/7bc361a1-b1cb-47c0-80d0-98dec738714d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Pakistanis protest to condemn the New Zealand mosque shooting, in Karachi, Pakistan, March 15, 2019.
![A police officer stands guard during Friday prayers at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, providing extra security after the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 15, 2019.](https://gdb.voanews.com/3da2cda8-ae76-4be7-a43c-d0d05d925045_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A police officer stands guard during Friday prayers at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, providing extra security after the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 15, 2019.