On Friday, a terrorist opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

The suspected killer appears to have announced his intentions in advance by posting a 74-page racist manifesto online.

The gunman live-streamed part of the attack. The prime suspect was arrested less than an hour later, by which time 49 people were dead. The death toll has since risen to 50, and 50 other people were injured.

Here is how the massacre unfolded in real time:

This article has been updated several times to incorporate new information.


Thursday, March 14, 2019: A man posted a 74-page racist manifesto on 8chan called "The Great Replacement" explaining why he would shortly be killing Islamic "invaders."

Foto: This was the logo on the front of the manifesto.sourceThe Great Replacement

The man said he would carry out an attack: "To take revenge on the invaders for the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders in European lands."

The 8chan post linked to the Facebook page of a person named Brenton Tarrant.

Read a full analysis of the manifesto here.


The author said he was an "ordinary White man" who "decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people."

Foto: Part of the manifesto explaining who the author was.sourceThe Great Replacement

The person said he would carry out an attack to "show the invaders that our lands will never be their lands, our homelands are our own and that, as long as a white man still lives, they will NEVER conquer our lands and they will never replace our people."

The manifesto espoused the racist "white genocide" conspiracy theory that other mass shooters have also subscribed to in the past.


The author said he had planned a deadly terror attack on Muslims in Christchurch in December 2018.

Foto: A now deleted Twitter account under the name of Brenton Tarrant. The account shared the manifesto that promised to kill Muslims in Christchurch.sourceTwitter

"It is a terrorist attack," the racist manifesto stated, and the author promised the massacre would be livestreamed.

The remainder of the 74-page document is an ethno-nationalist and white-supremacist diatribe about Islamic "invaders" destroying white culture.

The author describes himself as a "racist" and a "fascist."


Friday, March 15, 1.32 p.m.: The manifesto is emailed to accounts belonging to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and around 70 other politicians and media outlets in the country.

Foto: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets with victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their families.sourceNew Zealand Prime Minister Office/AP

Sources: The New Zealand Herald, Associated Press


A few minutes later, the gunman begins to livestream the attack to Facebook. The stream began at an industrial estate on Leslie Hill Drive, a few blocks away from his first target.

Foto: An industrial area on Leslie Hill Drive, Christchurch, New Zealand.sourceGoogle Street View

Source: BBC News


This is the gunman's face, as seen in the livestream. Prosecutors identified the suspect as 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, an Australian.

Foto: A man in the video, which was widely shared online and purports to show the shooting at Deans Avenue.sourceLive4

He then drives the short distance to the mosque, parks outside, and picks up a gun. This map shows his route.

Foto: The route taken by the gunman in the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.sourceGoogle Maps/INSIDER

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the suspect used five guns in the attack, including two semiautomatic weapons, two shotguns, and a "lever-action firearm" that he purchased legally with a gun license he obtained in November 2017.


At 1:40 p.m. local time on Friday, the gunman enters the Al Noor mosque and opens fire.

Foto: Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday.sourceAP Photo/Mark Baker

Worshipper Mohan Ibn Ibrahim told CNN he was inside the mosque when the shooting began.

"There were more than 200 people inside," he said. "The gunman came from the backside. Gunshots went on for a long time. We had to jump the wall to escape."

The mosque is divided into two prayer halls: one for women and one for men. The gunman spends 6 seconds shooting people in the women's hall, according to BBC News.

He turns to the men's hall, continuing to fire. He then returns to his car to get another weapon.

After a pause of around 2 minutes, he returns. He spends another 2 minutes shooting, firing some shots into bodies already on the floor.


In total, the attack at the Al Noor mosque lasts around 6 minutes. Forty-two people were killed. At 1:48 p.m., the suspect gets back in his car, and drives toward his second target.

Foto: A view of the dome of Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 17, 2019.sourceREUTERS/Edgar Su

Sources: BBC News, Associated Press


At 1:55 p.m., police confirm they are responding to a "critical incident." The gunman is gone by the time they arrive.

Foto: New Zealand armed police at the scene of the shooting.sourcePhil Walter/Getty Images

Nine minutes after firing the first shot at the Al Noor mosque, the gunman drove to the second mosque, in Linwood. He shoots at two people along the way.

Foto: Police forensic staff work outside Linwood mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019.sourceAP Photo/Vincent Thian

Yasir Amin and his 67-year-old father, Muhammad Amin Nasir, were walking on a sidewalk when a car stopped near them and a man inside began firing at them, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Yasir manages to run away, but his elderly father is hit. The man falls to the ground, bleeding. Amin finds a phone inside a vehicle and calls for help as the gunman drives away. Nasir is taken to a hospital with critical wounds. He is expected to recover.


The gunman continues streaming some of the journey to the second mosque, but the feed stops before he arrives.

Foto: The mosque in Linwood.sourceGoogle Maps

The Linwood mosque is about 3 miles away from the Al Noor mosque. It took the suspect 7 minutes to drive between the two.

Foto: The location of the two mosques in Christchurch.sourceGoogle Maps

Source: Associated Press


About 80 people were inside the Linwood mosque when the gunman arrived and fired the first shots there.

Foto: One of the shells on the floor of the mosque in Linwood.sourceSky News

The worshippers were so immersed in prayer that no one reacted when the first shots were fired, the Associated Press reported, citing a 33-year-old witness Elliot Dawson, who was there among the congregants.

The prayer leader, Latef Alabi, looked out of a window and saw Tarrant, dressed in black combat gear and a helmet and carrying a gun, and thought he was a policeman. Alabi told the AP he soon heard Tarrant shouting angrily.

"I realized this is something else. This is a killer, "he said

Source: Associated Press


"Everyone, get down! Get down! Get down!"

Foto: A police officer stands outside a crime scene tent at Linwood mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, March 17, 2019.sourceAP Photo/Mark Baker

The Associated Press reports Dawson's friend went outside and quickly ran back into the mosque. "Everyone, get down! Get down! Get down," he said.

Dawson retreated to a restroom and hid inside a stall, after unsuccessfully trying to squeeze through a window.

Source: Associated Press


Seven people are shot dead at the scene. An eighth died later in hospital.

Foto: Religious representatives perform a special blessing ceremony on the site of Friday's shooting outside the Linwood mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019.sourceAP Photo/Vincent Thian

Source: Associated Press


According to a witness, a worshipper at the mosque fought the attacker off, wrestling the gun out of his hands. The suspect then fled.

Foto: Abdul Aziz, survivor of mosque shooting speaks to Associated Press during an interview in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 16, 2019.sourceAssociated Press/Vincent Thian

Abdul Aziz, a 48-year-old Afghan refugee, was hailed a hero for preventing more deaths when he faced off with the gunman.

Aziz was praying with his family and about 80 other people on Friday at the Linwood Mosque when he heard gunshots, according to the New York Times.

Instead of going into hiding, Aziz decided to confront the gunman.

First, Aziz picked up a handheld credit card machine and stormed outside to try to distract Tarrant, the Associated Press reported. Aziz throws the machine at the gunman.

The attacker dropped his gun and ran to his car to grab another weapon, and Aziz picked up the dropped weapon and tried to fire it, but it was out of bullets.

"I was screaming to the guy, 'Come I'm here, come I'm here.' I tried to put his focus on me. I didn't want him to go inside the mosque," Aziz told Sky News.

The gunman drove from scene after Aziz hurled the shotgun at his car, shattering the back window.


2:17 p.m. — A number of local schools go into lockdown.

Foto: A man reacts as he speaks on a cellphone near a mosque in central Christchurch.sourceAP

Source: New Zealand Police


Around 2:20 p.m.: Police ram the suspected gunman's car, and pull him out of the vehicle, arresting him on a road about a 6-minute drive from the second mosque.

Foto: sourceScreengrab via BBC

Sources: Stuff.co.nz, BBC News, INSIDER, The Wall Street Journal


2:30 p.m. — New Zealand police confirm for the first time that the incident involves a gunman.

Foto: New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush.sourceTVNZ

Police Commissioner Mike Bush also urges people to stay off the streets in Christchurch and remain indoors. Shortly afterwards, the Canterbury District Health Board activates its mass-casualty plan.


4 p.m. — Bush confirms one person is in custody.

Foto: Bush speaks to media during a press conference.sourceGetty

Witnesses tell media the gunman was "white, aged in his 30s or 40s, and wearing a uniform."


4:10 p.m. — New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, calls it "one of New Zealand's darkest days."

Foto: New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern.source1 News

"This is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence," she tells media.


4:30 p.m. — Police tell people to avoid mosques across the country.

Foto: The Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.sourceGoogle Maps.

5:30 p.m. — New Zealand police say they have detained four people: three men and one woman.

Foto: Ambulances parked outside a mosque in central Christchurch.sourceAP

6 p.m. — New Zealand police announce they've ended the lockdown on schools.

Foto: sourceNew Zealand Police

7 p.m. — Ardern confirms at least 40 worshippers were killed. Preliminary counts place 30 of the deaths at the Al Noor Mosque and 10 at Linwood.

Foto: Police and ambulance staff help a wounded man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch.sourceAP

She says more than 20 worshippers were seriously injured.

Linwood says the offender is in custody, adding: "I can give that assurance: he has been apprehended. He is also accompanied by two other associates."

Asked about the attackers not being on intelligence-agency watch lists, she says it is an indication they "had not acted in a way that warranted it."


7 p.m. — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says one of the four people arrested is an Australian. He does not name the suspect.

Foto: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.sourceSky News

9:07 p.m. — Christchurch hospital says it's treating 48 patients with gunshot wounds, including several children.

Foto: Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch.sourceAP

Source: Canterbury District Health Board


9:15 p.m. — The death toll has reached 49, Bush says.

Foto: Bush.sourceSky News

He said the attack was "very well-planned." A reporter asks Bush to confirm Tarrant's identity. He declines.


10:14 p.m. — New Zealand police say a 28-year-old white male has been charged with murder and will appear at Christchurch District Court the next morning. They do not name Tarrant.

Foto: Grieving members of the public following a shooting at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.sourceREUTERS/SNPA/Martin Hunter

Two others remain in custody under arrest. None of the suspects were on a terror watch list.


12 a.m. — 200 miles away, police surround Tarrant's home on Somerville Street, Dunedin.

Foto: Police stand guard outside a property in Dunedin.sourceYouTube/Stuff

Read about the raid here.


Saturday, March 16: Tarrant appears in court after a night in custody, where he is named officially for the first time. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 5.

Foto: sourceReuters

Tarrant made an inverted "OK" symbol in hi court appearance, which is a gesture associated with white supremacy.

Outlets blurred his face at the request of the judge.

Reporters in court say Tarrant was smirking during the hearing.


Sunday morning — The death toll rises to 50, Bush said in a press conference.

Foto: A man places flowers at a memorial site for victims of the mosque shootings at the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 18, 2019.sourceREUTERS/Edgar Su

Another 50 people were injured, 36 of whom remain in hospital, he said. Of those, 11 are in critical condition, including one four-year-old child.

This marks the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history and one of the deadliest in the world in recent history.