Christchurch massacre victim raises his finger to Allah as he’s taken from mosque in a poignant final salute before becoming the 50th person to die – as his wife has a heart attack as she desperately searched for him
- Mohsin Al-Harbi became the 50th victim of the deadly Christchurch massacre
- He died eight hours after being shot at the Al Noor Mosque on Friday afternoon
- Saudi immigrant pointed finger to the sky as he was wheeled away on stretcher
A victim of the Christchurch massacre raised his finger to the sky hours before dying in hospital.
Mohsin Al-Harbi, a Saudi immigrant, became the 50th person to die in New Zealand’s gun rampage, which is now the world’s second worst peacetime massacre.
The 63-year-old water desalination plant worker, who moved to New Zealand 25 years ago, made his Islamic gesture, declaring his love for Allah, as he was wheeled on a stretcher from the Al Noor Mosque on Friday afternoon.
Mohsin Al-Harbi (pictured) raised his finger to the sky just eight hours before he died and became the 50th victim of the Christchurch massacre
He died in Christchurch Hospital eight hours after Australian Brenton Tarrant allegedly opened fire on Muslims during their weekly prayers at the Dean Street mosque and at the nearby masjid on Linwood Avenue.
In another awful twist, his wife Manal became so distressed as she desperately searched for him that she collapsed and had a heart attack.
She is now fighting for her life in hospital in a critical condition.
Mohsin Al-Harbi’s son Feras Al-Harbi said his father was a devout Muslim and a part-time imam, who occasionally gave Friday sermons at the Al Noor Mosque.
‘My father lived a full life. It was a good life,’ he told Arab News.
Mohsin Al-Harbi’s son Feras Al-Harbi (left with his dad) said his father was a devout Muslim and a part-time imam, who occasionally gave Friday sermons at the Al Noor Mosque
The grieving son said his father’s finger gesture was a sign of his religious devotion.
‘Eight hours later he passed away,’ Feras Al-Harbi said.
‘We accept his destiny and Allah’s will. I’m grateful and thankful to Allah in all situations and circumstances.’
Mohsin Al-Harbi’s death has made the Christchurch gun massacre the world’s worst peacetime shooting, second only to the Las Vegas carnage of October 2017 which saw 58 people shot dead in the United States.
Mohsin Al-Harbi’s (pictured) death has made the Christchurch gun massacre the world’s worst peacetime shooting
The death toll is now worse than the June 2016 Orlando, Florida massacre, which saw 49 people killed at the Pulse gay nightclub.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has flagged introducing sweeping new gun laws in a nation where semi-automatic rifles can still be bought at gun shops with a licence.
‘The mere fact that this individual had acquired a gun licence and acquired weapons of that range, then obviously I think people will be seeking change, and I’m committing to that,’ she told reporters on Saturday.
‘While work is being done as to the chain of events that led to both the holding of this gun licence, and the possession of these weapons, I can tell you one thing right now — our gun laws will change.’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured in Wellington comforting a Muslim woman) has flagged introducing sweeping new gun laws in a nation where semi-automatic rifles can still be bought at gun shops with a licence
Australia banned automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles after 35 people were killed at Port Arthur in Tasmania in April 1996, which was then the world’s worst peacetime mass shooting.
New Zealand amended its gun laws in 1992, after the Aramoana massacre of November 1990, which saw 13 people shot dead in a small township near Dunedin, following a neighbourhood dispute.
Background checks and special permits were introduced 26 years ago, however New Zealand lacks a national gun registry.
New Zealand’s gun lobby thwarted attempts to reform gun laws in 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2017.