WARNING: contains distressing content.
The victims of the mosque atrocities this afternoon unleashed their anger at the terrorist who had cause such devastation.
Mriwais Waziri put his statement aside and decided he would speak from the heart.
“I didn't see any remorse, any regrets, any shame in the eyes of this terrorist,” he said, looking directly at Brenton Tarrant (29).
Being from Afghanistan, he said, he had been labelled a terrorist in the past.
“You took that name from me,” Mr Waziri said.
His words resonated so much with those in the public gallery that he received a round of applause.
Mr Waziri said the attacks made him defiant that he would remain in the New Zealand.
“My brothers and sisters suffered but we're stronger than before. I will stay in this country forever. I will not leave this country,” he said.
“You're the loser and we're the winners . . . You're the terrorist.”
'You are a coward'
Zuhair Darwish – whose brother was killed - took a similar tack, addressing Tarrant as he sat in the dock surrounded by Corrections staff.
“You think you're going to destroy some of our future but you actually destroyed any hope for you in the future,” he said.
“You'll pay for what you did in this life or the next.”
The defendant has appeared engaged as victims have read statement but has rarely reacted to their words.
Mr Darwish, however, managed to provoke a response.
“You act like a coward and you are a coward. You live like a rat and I think you deserve that. You're going to die alone like a virus everyone avoids being with,” he said.
Tarrant nodded.
“I know they removed the death penalty for humans he is not a human,” Mr Darwish continued. “He doesn't deserve to be treated or judged like a human.”
His brother Kamel had come to the country just four months before the shooting spree, working on a farm and sending money home to his wife and three children.
Zuhair Darwish said he would forever feel guilty.
“I told him for several years to come to New Zealand because I considered it a good and safe place to live.”
Remarks prompt smile from terrorist
Nathan Smith said his conversion to Islam nine years ago was the best decision he had ever made.
He was at Al Noor Mosque when the bullets started to fly.
Mr Smith recounted holding a 3-year-old in his arms, praying he was alive.
He was not.
“You killed in my name. I'm a white Muslim. All you've done is cause great shame to Europeans all over the world,” Mr Smith said.
“Because of you, my faith is stronger and I want to learn more about Islam, so thank you.”
Mr Smith's parting remark prompted a smile from Tarrant.
“When you've got a free minute, which you'll have plenty of – funny, eh – maybe you should try to read the Koran. It's beautiful,” he said.
Victim pretended to be dead
One of the last statements read today came from Hazem Mohammed - a Christchurch resident of 41 years – who said he met the gunman twice.
The first time, he said, was two weeks before the shootings when the defendant turned up at Al Noor Mosque.
“He was beside me and I was looking at his eyes and he never looked at me,” he said.
The next time Tarrant came to the mosque he cut a different figure.
Mr Mohammed found himself trapped as all exits swiftly became blocked with those trying to evade the gunfire.
He had only one option.
“I lay down on my tummy and pretended to be dead. I lay still and didn't move a muscle,” he said.
Seven minutes later, the gunman returned to the prayer room and methodically executed anyone showing signs of life.
“I felt him pass me and I felt the air his body pass my head,” Mr Mohammed said.
Tarrant shot at the man from a couple of metres away and narrowly missed his head, the bullet lodging inside his shoulder.
The victim implored Justice Cameron Mander to all the power the law afforded him in sentencing the defendant.
“Please, this man is not showing any remorse,” said Mr Mohammed
“I want you to give this man the highest penalty you can. I want this man not to see the sun. This man should stay in prison forever.”
'My husband never got to hold his baby'
Five days before Tarrant executed his deadly plans, Khusbu Vora gave birth to a girl.
Because of health difficulties she was admitted to the neo-natal unit.
Her husband Ramiz went to the mosque to pray, and never came back.
“My husband never got to hold his baby daughter,” she said.
Mrs Vora told the court she was determined to stay in Christchurch to honour her husband's wishes and she had since been granted residency.
“We'll make a life for us here,” she said,
“The fact remains, [my daughter] will never meet her father and Ramiz has not had the opportunity to live, to know and watch his daughter grow.”
Yesterday, the court heard about the intricate planning behind Brenton Harrison Tarrant's horrifying shooting spree.
The 29-year-old spent a year and a half researching how he could kill as many Muslims as possible and amassing an array of powerful weapons to do so.
Tarrant is being sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch this week, after gunning down 51 people in the city's Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15 last year during Friday prayers.
The Australian-born gunman pleaded guilty unexpectedly in March this year to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and a charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
A summary of facts, revealed for the first time this week, revealed gruesome details of the attack.
'I will never get those images out of my head'
Earlier today, the nephew of a victim of the mosque terror attacks has described accidentally viewing online footage of the massacre.
Kyron Gosse, whose aunty Linda Armstrong was shot at Linwood Islamic Centre, told the High Court at Christchurch this morning: "I will never get those images out of my head."
Tarrant, the court heard, mowed down worshippers at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre without warning, coldly executing the wounded and those begging to be spared.
The toll on the families of those killed and the lucky few who escaped with their lives has been starkly apparent.
Victim statements made up the majority of yesterday's hearings and the stories of grief and trauma will continue for the entirety of today.
Mr Gosse described himself as "an ordinary guy caught up in the horror".
"I too was sent and innocently watched the video, not knowing what I was viewing. What I saw on that video will haunt me for the rest of my life," he said.
"I saw a first-person account of this man, without flinching or hesitation . . . pulled the trigger on an automatic assault weapon murdering an unarmed man before storming the mosque and gunning down dozens of innocent worshippers."
Mr Gosse called Tarrant a "hateful lowlife".
"[He] hid behind his big powerful guns and shot little old Linda from afar. She never even stood a chance," he said.
Mrs Armstrong's daughter Angela said she had always been close with her "vivacious" mother but their relationship became strained when the woman converted to Islam.
She said she had since found solace in the supportive and inclusive Muslim community.
"I feel I've been robbed, robbed of the opportunity for myself and my whanau to learn further from mum, robbed of the chance to say goodbye, to hold her hand with her final breaths," she said.
"You robbed me of my mother, of her love and strength; and you will never again feel the love and warmth of your mother's hug. While I have pity for your mum, I have no emotion for you. You're nothing."
March 15 just the beginning
The court also heard from Luul Elmi, a Christchurch resident of 26 years.
She described being in the ladies' prayer room of Al Noor Mosque when she thought she heard a tyre bursting.
The noises kept coming and she was urged to leave.
Mrs Elmi saw the gunman on Deans Ave as she frantically tried to stop traffic in a bid to flee the scene.
She ended up huddled in a nearby property with four others, waiting for the terror to end.
But for Mrs Elmi, the trauma of March 15, 2019 was only just beginning.
On hearing about the tragedy, her husband Mohamed Elmi travelled from his workplace in Balclutha to support her and other members of the community in the aftermath.
After five days of sleepless nights he drove back south.
"My husband was the head of our family and I miss him so much,"Mrs Elmi said.
"I believe the defendant's actions are part of the reason my husband is now dead."
'He's made us stronger'
Naeem Rashid died at the hands of the gunman but his heroic acts allowed others to escape, court documents showed.
He charged Tarrant when the shooting began and knocked him over only to be shot four times.
His wife Ambreen Naeem also lost her son Talha Naeem during the tragedy.
"Naeem was a supportive, kind, considerate husband and father . . . energetic, thoughtful and loyal," she said.
"He wanted the boys to grow up to be better people. His best attribute was his ability to make friends with everybody."
Mrs Naeem said her husband posthumously received the highest civilian honour in Pakistan and had been commended by the Prime Minister in Parliament.
"Naeem died trying to save others and his act of bravery is something that his sons will always feel honoured for. But his loss has left a huge void in our lives. Naeem was a very honourable man and his death is a reflection of his life," she said.
Mrs Naeem said Tarrant may have killed 51 Muslims but inspired many more to redouble their faith.
"He tried to scare us but unfortunately for him he targeted the most positive people. He's made us stronger, stronger and more positive," she said.
'The devil'
Taxi driver Mohammad Siddiqui said he arrived at Al Noor Mosque five minutes before the killing began.
He was shot in the arm and referred to Tarrant as "the devil".
"You entered into the house of God with evil intentions to kill innocent people. You've killed the dreams of my good friends and family," he said.
"You shot them with intent to carry out your gutless actions . . . We're stronger and defy your actions of hatred."
Zahid Ismail's was parking his car with his pregnant wife when the shooting at Al Noor began.
While he evaded the gunman, his twin brother Junaid was not as lucky.
Zahid Ismail said the greatest tragedy was the fact his brother's three children would now grow up without a father.
"We as a family will ensure his legacy is carried on through his children who will become proud Kiwis," he said.
"Our family is standing strong, living in our home city of Christchurch, in the great country of New Zealand."
'I couldn't believe what had just happened'
The Imam at the Linwood Islamic Centre Ibrahim Abdelhalim who was leading prayers at the time of the massacre said he no longer felt comfortable attending the mosque.
The 69-year-old grandfather said he had spoken to worshippers that afternoon about how they were all ambassadors for Islam and that they should treat both Muslims and non-Muslims with respect.
Then Tarrant burst in and bodies began falling.
"I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had lost many friends in these few minutes."
"New Zealand gave my family a home for 24 years. I've always felt safe and proud to be a New Zealander and to live in a place where I can practice my faith without issues."
His wife Salwa El Shazely and his son were present that day too.
She recalled her friend Linda Armstrong rushing for the door as the gunman entered and being shot once.
As Mrs El Shazely tried to pull her to safety, Tarrant fired another shot which went through her arm.
She said she felt lucky that she had been able to undergo physiotherapy and had been left without a permanent disability.
Sanjida Neha had been married to Mohammad Faruk only a year and a half and was four months pregnant with their first child when she heard news of the attack from her home in Bangladesh.
Initially she was told Mr Faruk had been injured and felt "at peace" but two days later her brother informed her of her husband's death.
Her daughter, whom she was raising in New Zealand, was now a constant reminder of the tragedy but also her inspiration to be strong.
"I have more courage now,' Ms Neha told the court.
The hearing continues.
