Santa Cruz mosque staff react to deadly New Zealand attacks

“Shocking” and “disturbing” are the words used by staff at the Islamic Center of Santa Cruz in response to the deadly mass shooting at a pair of mosques in New Zealand.

Dozens are dead after a gunmen entered the mosques and began opening fire on worshipers. Some of those wounded were children.

“A place of worship is supposed to be safe and be a refuge for people to find tranquility and peace,” said Houcine Ahmed with the Islamic Center of Santa Cruz. “To be honest, I’m really at a loss for words.”

One of the worshipers at the mosque arriving this morning says they were devastated to hear the suspect in the shooting, an Australian in his late 20s, livestreamed the attack as it happened.

The Islamic Center of Santa Cruz already has security cameras in place for all criminal activity. They also are in close contact with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office as well as Santa Cruz Police should an incident take place.

However, the impact of the dozens of lives lost early Friday morning in New Zealand has been far-reaching for the mosque.

“I just want to express our sincerest condolences to the families and the victims,” says Ahmed. “I just pray for a quick recovery for the people that are injured, too.”

For an update on the shooting and the suspect who was apprehended, click here