New Zealand attack: Country in shock but people vow love and tolerance will shine through

Two days on from devastating attacks on mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealanders were still coming to terms with events that increasingly seem to be among the most deeply scarring – and consequential – in the nation’s history.

In modern New Zealand, eruptions of violence have been remarkable for their rarity. Over past decades, incidents like the Bain family killings in 1994, the murder of Sophie Elliott in 2008 and British backpacker Grace Millane just months ago, produced widespread shock.

But what has just occurred is new territory, puncturing the blanket of relative security that these remote islands have long seemed to provide. Residents of Christchurch, despite the earthquakes of eight years ago, had become habituated to living in one of the world’s most reputedly safe societies.

Accordingly, prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who forthrightly described Friday’s horrors as “terrorism”, is now setting the stage for lasting changes to be made to the country’s gun laws, which have allowed those with licences to possess semi-automatic weapons. And perhaps more besides.

Gun laws in New Zealand “need to change” and “will change,” she declared at a press briefing on Saturday.

Visiting a gun shop in an outer suburb of the city, this reporter saw semi-automatics still on sale, including what appeared to be an AR-15 – one of the types of firearms used, in modified form, in noted mass shootings in the US, including during the Sandy Hook massacre.

Brenton Tarrant, 28, who has been charged with the mass murders, is believed to have used a semi-automatic weapon during the violence.

Speaking outside a bar in the city’s Cathedral Square, Selena, a 23-year-old lifelong Cantabrian, told The Independent she felt that the events of Friday afternoon had retraumatised otherwise stoical locals.

“Quite a few people are still trying to get over things to do with the earthquake,” she said. “We’ve kind of taken it for granted how safe we think New Zealand is.”

Elsewhere in Christchurch, expressions of community spirit, grief and solidarity were on clear display, as were armed police standing watchfully as small crowds gathered to pay their respects near cordoned-off roads, metres from the assaulted mosques.

It is a measure of how much has changed in such a short time that the presence of armed police in this low-crime city has progressed from a source of some controversy to a non-issue.

Less than a month ago, moves to temporarily arm Cantabrian police officers on the beat, following a non-lethal firearm incident, were a source of debate. It seems that very few would object now.

The people of this city have other concerns. And, in many cases, this includes how to help one another.

In an echo of the spirit displayed by residents after the earthquakes, volunteers have begun to organise so as to offer assistance to the distressed, injured – and those that serve them.

Fundraising pages for the families of victims have received a steady inflow of payments; other initiatives involved donations of both time and money.

The Independent stumbled across an example of the latter by chance. On Saturday, while approaching Christchurch General Hospital, this reporter noticed a group of volunteers busily unloading boxes of food for visiting families – all of it halal. They recruited several passers-by to assist with the delivery.

This generosity was initiated by Olly, 34, whose workplace is located on Riccarton Road, in an area of the city which extends to a few hundred metres from the scene of the first attack. He explained that he took action initially as an individual but was now supported in his efforts by so many others he couldn’t provide a figure for how many were involved: when asked for a number, he simply said “lots”.

Speaking in imperfect English, he said: “Yesterday when I heard, I was really in shock, so I decided to help.”

He started purchasing some meals from a local shop but ran out of money. He hoped to get more.

“I wanted to buy something, but it was not [enough]” he said, adding that he managed to find collaborators who provided both money and additional vehicles to carry the food.

Beyond Christchurch, New Zealanders were paying tribute to their Muslim compatriots in vigils and other communal displays of respect. The biggest gathering of this kind was held in capital city Wellington on Sunday – a memorial event which attracted around 10,000 people at its peak.

Wellingtonian Karl Jensen, who described himself as an “event worker” donating his time and technical know-how, said the get-together was “packed,” describing it as “elegiac, respectful, emotive”.

Reflecting on developments over the weekend, he said he welcomed the prime minister’s statements on gun control, but added he wished that more had been done before Friday, and observed that experts had been calling for tighter regulations for some time.

Karl, a former resident of Christchurch, continued: “I just think that if the NZ parliament had enforced stronger gun laws – a law professor and the head of the NZ police union had made this case, disregarded by a firearm retailer – we wouldn’t be in this mess. If the killer had no means to kill people, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Back in Christchurch’s city centre, sitting across a table of pints, when asked if she had a message to Muslim New Zealanders, Selena paused before offering a succinct, but sincere, reply.

“We stand by you guys,” she said, with a gentle smile.