Mohan Ibn Ibrahim walked into the Masjid Al-Noor, a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, around 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The 27-year-old arrived early for 2 p.m. prayers – it gets really crowded, he says, and there are often 300 to 400 people in attendance.He waved at friends he had seen at prayers the night before, and took his seat in the front right corner. Then he heard a sound.“I thought it was an electric short circuit,” he tells PEOPLE. But the noise got louder — and closer — as a shooter entered the mosque’s main gate.“Luckily, we had two doors,” Ibrahim tells PEOPLE. The shooter entered the door on the left side of the mosque, and Ibrahim ran out the door on the right. He fled toward the back of the mosque and jumped a wall.“On the first attempt I couldn’t do it — the wall was tall,” he says. “I had to jump onto a car.”Ibrahim saw a man who’d been shot in the chest, lying in the street.“I didn’t know what should I do. I didn’t see that many police,” he tells PEOPLE. “I went Live from my Facebook to show the scene. I wanted to let the news and everybody know what’s going on here.”Fifty people were killedin the attack and 36 were hospitalized as of Saturday,New Zealand Police said on Twitter.A 28-year-old suspect, Brenton Tarrant, who, according to multiple reports, was a bodybuilder from Australia, has been charged with murder in the attack. According toThe Washington Post,he did not enter a plea Saturdayin court.“It’s terrifying and it’s really shocking. I never ever expected something from a such a beautiful country, such a safe country,” Ibrahim says.Click here to sign up for PEOPLE’s True Crime newsletter for the latest breaking crime news as well as our ongoing coverage of the most intriguing casesHe immigrated to New Zealand from Bangladesh in March 2014, largely because he thought it would be safer.“It was really unexpected,” he says. “I just can’t believe that we have to face something like this.”He says his heart breaks looking at news photos of all the people who lost their lives that day.“I’m so speechless,” he says. “I know everybody who died there.”Ibrahim says that both his wallet and his car are still at the mosque. “I just don’t want to recall any more. I feel so sad,” he says. “Just pray for us.”
Mohan Ibn Ibrahim walked into the Masjid Al-Noor, a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, around 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The 27-year-old arrived early for 2 p.m. prayers – it gets really crowded, he says, and there are often 300 to 400 people in attendance.
He waved at friends he had seen at prayers the night before, and took his seat in the front right corner. Then he heard a sound.
“I thought it was an electric short circuit,” he tells PEOPLE. But the noise got louder — and closer — as a shooter entered the mosque’s main gate.
“Luckily, we had two doors,” Ibrahim tells PEOPLE. The shooter entered the door on the left side of the mosque, and Ibrahim ran out the door on the right. He fled toward the back of the mosque and jumped a wall.
“On the first attempt I couldn’t do it — the wall was tall,” he says. “I had to jump onto a car.”
Ibrahim saw a man who’d been shot in the chest, lying in the street.
“I didn’t know what should I do. I didn’t see that many police,” he tells PEOPLE. “I went Live from my Facebook to show the scene. I wanted to let the news and everybody know what’s going on here.”
Fifty people were killedin the attack and 36 were hospitalized as of Saturday,New Zealand Police said on Twitter.
A 28-year-old suspect, Brenton Tarrant, who, according to multiple reports, was a bodybuilder from Australia, has been charged with murder in the attack. According toThe Washington Post,he did not enter a plea Saturdayin court.
“It’s terrifying and it’s really shocking. I never ever expected something from a such a beautiful country, such a safe country,” Ibrahim says.
Click here to sign up for PEOPLE’s True Crime newsletter for the latest breaking crime news as well as our ongoing coverage of the most intriguing cases
He immigrated to New Zealand from Bangladesh in March 2014, largely because he thought it would be safer.
“It was really unexpected,” he says. “I just can’t believe that we have to face something like this.”
He says his heart breaks looking at news photos of all the people who lost their lives that day.
“I’m so speechless,” he says. “I know everybody who died there.”
Ibrahim says that both his wallet and his car are still at the mosque. “I just don’t want to recall any more. I feel so sad,” he says. “Just pray for us.”
source: people.com
