The funeral prayers for two of the 50 victims of the horrible Christchurch massacre were offered late Tuesday here in the city, with hundreds of mourners and members of the Muslim community in attendance.
The burials were held in Memorial Park Cemetery in New Zealand’s Linwood city as New Zealanders braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings.
The burials were of late Khalid Mustafa and his son, 14-year-old Hamza, both of whom hailed from Syria and had relocated to New Zealand in 2018. Their status was confirmed by refugee group Syrian Solidarity New Zealand, which added that Mustafa’s other son, 13-year-old Zaed, was “in a stable condition after a six-hour operation”.
Hamza, the son, was speaking to his mother on the phone when he was shot dead by the white terrorist.
The two people to be buried were laid to rest in a special grave designated for the 50 victims of the massacre.
Authorities spent four days constructing the grave site.
The identity of the people buried Wednesday wasn’t immediately known.
The service took place five days after the anti-Muslim attack on worshipers during services.
