The bullet-riddled Al Noor mosque in Christchurch was being repaired, painted and cleaned ahead of Friday prayers, as the government announced a ban on all military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new weapons legislation.
"On 15 March our history changed forever. Now, our laws will too. We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday.
“All semi-automatic weapons used during the terrorist attack on Friday 15 March will be banned."
Ms Ardern said she expects the new laws to be in place by April 11 and a buy-back scheme – estimated to cost up to $138 million (Dh 451 million) – will be established for banned weapons.
As well as all military style semi-automatics and assault rifles, parts used to convert weapons into those categories of weapons and all high-capacity magazines will also be banned.
Under existing New Zealand gun laws, a standard A-category gun license allows semi-automatics limited to seven shots. Live-streamed video of a gunman in one of the mosques showed a semi-automatic weapon modified with a large magazine.
Australia banned semi-automatic weapons and launched a gun buy-back after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people were gunned down.
Ardern said that similar to Australia, the new gun laws will allow for strictly enforced exemptions for farmers to conduct pest control and animal welfare.
"I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride."
Meanwhile, grieving families buried more victims of New Zealand's worst mass shooting.
MS Ardern has announced that Friday's call to prayers for Muslims will be broadcast nationally and there will be a two-minute silence.
Armed police have been guarding mosques around New Zealand after 50 people were killed in last Friday’s terror attack by a lone gunman at two mosques in Christchurch.
"We will have a heightened presence tomorrow in order to provide reassurance to people attending the Friday call for prayers," police said in a statement on Thursday.
"Police have been working relentlessly, doing everything in our power to gather all appropriate evidence from what are active crime scenes so we can allow people to return to the mosques as quickly as possible."
Both mosques attacked, the Al Noor and nearby Linwood mosque, plan to be reopened. Thousands of worshippers are expected at the Al Noor mosque, where the majority of victims died.
Most victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist who was living in Dunedin, on New Zealand's South Island, has been charged with murder following the attack.
He was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5, when police said he was likely to face more charges.
However, in an apparent mistake, New Zealand police say they inadvertently charged mosque terror suspect with the murder of a person who is still alive. It is unclear what impact this will have on the man’s detention.
The first victims were buried on Wednesday and burials continued on Thursday, with the funeral of a school boy.
Families of the victims have been frustrated by the delay as under Islam bodies are usually buried within 24 hours.
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Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest known victim of the March 15 Mosque shootings in Christchurch. Abdi Ibrahim via AP -
Atta Elayyan. The 33-year-old was a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent who was born in Kuwait. He migrated with his family to New Zealand in 1992, where he became a leading IT developer and a goalkeeper for New Zealand’s national futsal team. AFP -
Lilik Abdul Hamid was an Indonesian aircraft maintenance engineer at Air New Zealand. Rex -
Haji Daoud. The Afghan fled to New Zealand to escape the Soviet invasion in 1979. He was the president of a local Afghan association and supported other migrant groups. He is reported to have thrown himself in front of fellow worshipers when the gunman burst in and started shooting. Reuters -
Sayyad Milne. The 14-year-old was a good-natured, kind teenager. EPA -
Amjad Hamid was a doctor who was well liked for his kindness, compassion and sense of humour. Rex -
Syed Janandad Ali, 34, a Pakistani citizen. Rex -
Pakistani citizen Naeem Rashid, who was killed along with and his son Talha Naeem. He will be given a national bravery award, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, after he appeared to confront the gunman. He was a banker by profession and moved to New Zealand in 2009 to study, local media reported. EPA -
A relative weeps while showing the picture of Sohail Shahid, a Pakistani citizen who was killed in Christchurch mosque shootings. AP Photo -
Osama Adnan Abu Kwaik was born in Gaza, and spent his childhood and teenage years in Egypt. Rex -
A relative shows a picture of Syed Areeb Ahmed, a Pakistani citizen who was killed. AP Photo -
Haroon Mahmood, 41, a Pakistani national, was the assistant academic director of Canterbury College. REX / Shutterstock -
Husne Ara Parvin, 42, was killed when she tried to save her wheelchair-bound paralysed husband Farid Uddin. Rex -
Friends of a missing man Zakaria Bhuiyan hold up photos of him outside a refuge centre in Christchurch. AAP Image via AP -
Farhaj Ahsan was an engineer from India and moved to New Zealand in 2010. REX / Shutterstock -
Sixteen-year-old Hamza Mustafa was an excellent horse rider and aspired to be a veterinarian. AFP -
Hussein Al Umari was killed while running towards the terrorist, as he tried to protect people fleeing the mosque. Courtesy Janna Ezat. -
Tariq Omar played soccer in the summer and was a beloved coach of several youth teams. AP Photo -
Akhtar Khokhur, 58, shows a picture of her husband Mehaboobbhai Khokhar during an interview outside an information centre for families in Christchurch, New Zealand. AP Photo -
A man pedals his bicycle past a poster of Anzi Ali Bhava in Kodungalloor town in the southern state of Kerala, India. Reuters -
Hossein Moustafa had moved with his family to Christchurch 20 years ago from Egypt. AP Photo
A mass burial is expected to be held on Friday. Body washing will go on through the day and night to have the dead ready for burial, said one person involved in the process.
Police have identified and release to the families the bodies of some 30 victims.
Twenty-nine people wounded in the attacks remained in hospital, eight still in intensive care.
Many have had to undergo multiple surgeries due to complicated gunshot wounds. The gunman used semi-automatic AR-15 rifles, with large magazines, and shotguns.
The gunman broadcast his attack live on Facebook and it was quickly distributed to other platforms, prompting Ms Ardern and others to rebuke technology companies and call for greater efforts to stop violence and extremist views being aired on social media.
Two men have been arrested for sharing the video of the attack.
