Friday March 22, 2019
Adan Ibrahim Dirie witnessed the death of his son, the youngest victim of a shooting rampage that left 50 dead
Adan
Ibrahim Dirie, a survivor of last week’s terror attacks in
Christchurch, New Zealand, will forever live with the moment his son was
murdered in cold blood.
“When the terrorist opened fire, he shot my three-and-a-half-year-old son in the head,” he told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
Dirie,
the father of Mucad Ibrahim, the youngest victim of the terrorist
attack on Al Noor Mosque, described what he went through during the
ordeal."God
gave my son life. Then he claimed it back. Last Friday was tough for
me, for New Zealand and for the whole Islamic world," he said.
Noting
that worshippers were listening to the Friday sermon when the attack
occurred, Dirie said his son collapsed after being shot.
"I believe in God, I believe that everything is connected with God. I had to be patient and felt how all Muslims felt," he said.
He said he managed to survive by camouflaging himself so the terrorist didn't notice him.
Dirie
emphasized that he was grateful for all the aid, assistance and
friendship from people from all corners of the world, especially those
in New Zealand.
"We
need to speak more and perform more actions for Muslims. We are unified
now,” said Derek Tait, a member of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori
community.
“He is a loser. He lost, but we won,” he added, referring to the terrorist.
On
March 15, at least 50 people were killed when a terrorist opened fire
on worshippers during the weekly Friday prayers at the Al Noor and
Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Four suspects -- three men and one woman -- were detained. One suspected was reportedly released later.
One
of the suspects, Australian-born Brenton Tarrant, 28, is facing
massacre charges and is being held at a high-security prison in
Auckland.