Christchurch CCTV shows late father and son making narrow escape from New Zealand gunman
Video report by ITV News Correspondent John Ray
A father and son on their way to Friday prayers at a mosque may have only survived the Christchurch attack because they were running late, CCTV has revealed.
The footage, which was recorded by security cameras at a car park, shows the pair casually walking towards their place of worship - but audio in the video reveals just how close they were to possible death.
Muffled gunshots can be heard ringing out from inside the mosque as the oblivious pair walk towards the attack happening just 300 metres away.
More gunshots can be heard before the pair come back into vision, running away from the pursuing attacker - a man police believe was Brenton Tarrant.
The gunman's car then appears, stops, beeps at the pair and then fires at point blank range.
A victim can be seen scrambling for cover and is later taken to hospital.
Had they been on time for worship they could have easily been among the 50 who were killed.
On Thursday, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to ban sales of “military-style” semi-automatic and automatic weapons like the ones used in the mosque attacks.
“Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” she said.
Ms Ardern’s announcement comes less than a week after the killings, as more of the dead were buried.
At least six funerals took place on Thursday, including one for a teenager and a youth football coach.
One of New Zealand’s largest gun retailers, Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, said it supports “any government measure to permanently ban such weapons”.
“While we have sold them in the past to a small number of customers, last week’s events have forced a reconsideration that has led us to believe such weapons of war have no place in our business — or our country,” chief executive Darren Jacobs said in a statement.
Regardless of the ban, the company would no longer stock any assault-style firearms of any category and would also stop selling firearms online, he said.