In yet another hateful and harmful attack against Muslims, gunmen opened fire "for ten to 15 minutes" in two New Zealand mosques - Linwood mosque on Linwood Avenue and Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue - leaving more than 45 people dead and 20 others seriously injured.
The attack, which has been described as the country's worse mass shooting, took place during Friday prayers in the city of Christchurch. Footage of the shootings were apparently live-streamed by one of the attackers, and New Zealand police has urged internet users to stop circulating any footage related to the attack.
"We would strongly urge that the link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed," the New Zealand Police tweeted.
Facebook, the platform used to live-stream the footage, co-operated with the police force to delete the shooter's account.
One suspect, according to HuffPost, had publicly posted a 74-page manifesto to Twitter and the online forum 8chan, declaring his hatred for Muslim immigrants in Europe. According to media outlets, the suspect also seemed to have been motivated by extremism in the United States.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the shooting as an act of terrorism.
Following the hateful attack, New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed that four suspects have been taken into custody - three men and one woman. Bush then asked Muslims to avoid going to a mosque.
"Close your doors until you hear from us again," he said, according to CNN.
Bush also revealed that two improvised explosive devices were found attached to vehicles outside the mosque as part of the attack, but were defused by the defense force.
A male in his late 20s has been charged with murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that at least one of the suspects is an Australian-born citizen.