Father and son fled New Zealand mosque attack as family in Sacramento area saw horror unfold

When a gunman opened fire Friday during prayers at a New Zealand mosque, it was still Thursday evening in Elk Grove, and Arwa Eleissa was home when she answered a call from her sister, Ethar.

Ethar frantically told her there had been a shooting at the Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch – where her husband, Khaldoun Shatnawi, and their 4-year-old son, Omar, had gone for prayers.

After learning that the two had escaped uninjured, Arwa turned on the television and came face to face with the horrific news. She started relaying the details to her sister back in New Zealand as they unfolded.

The death toll quickly climbed — now at 51— in Christchurch, where the terrorist targeted two separate mosques during afternoon congregational prayers, authorities said. More than 40 people were injured.

“It had just happened, and I realized many people died,” Arwa said. “I don’t think she realized how bad it was.”

What occurred over the next several hours was the worst terror attack in New Zealand’s modern history, and brought a sobering sense of insecurity for Muslims throughout the Western world.

Ethar said Shatnawi is still deeply shaken.

Gunshots and a quick escape

When he saw that a man had broken a window to escape the Christchurch mosque, he followed his instincts and without hesitation threw son Omar out of the building.

Shatnawi heard the gunshots, but he said in those moments he had no idea that a terrorist who vowed to fight for white supremacy was spraying prayer attendees with bullets.

The pumping sounds of the shotgun were unclear at first, but people began to quickly duck for cover, and make desperate attempts to flee.

“My husband thought they were fireworks,” said Ethar. “Someone began screaming ‘Escape!’”

The gunman, who live-streamed the massacre on Facebook, sent a 74-page manifesto to government officials nine minutes before the attack, according to law enforcement. He detailed his motive to “directly reduce immigration rates to European lands” and praised President Donald Trump as a “symbol of renewed white identity,” according to the manifesto.

The day after the attack, Arwa attended Friday prayers at Elk Grove’s MAS Community and Youth Center, while two city police officers kept watch.

In the greater Sacramento area, multiple police departments patrolled mosques upon request during Friday prayers, and some officers spoke to attendees about security and safety measures.

As officers made themselves visible outside the mosque while she prayed, Arwa said she realized she had to talk to her 13-year-old son and explain to him how their own family in New Zealand narrowly survived a terror attack.

Harrowing details

Arwa, a pharmacist, had the day off, so she took her son to the park and explained the harrowing details.

His uncle, Shatnawi, who usually arrives a few minutes late to Friday prayer, left for the mosque early that day — a decision that Ethar said probably saved his life. He had planned to take Omar for a haircut, but when the imam asked for a ride, Shatnawi ended up being one of the first ones there — and consequently in the first rows, farthest away from the gunman.

The rapid and successive popping sounds began, and Shatnawi said he saw a friend bang his head against a window trying to break it open. When that didn’t work, his friend shattered it with his hand.

As men rushed to jump out, Shatnawi pushed his son through the broken window. Though he felt a sudden urge to help his friends escape, he knew he had to take Omar to safety.

So Shatnawi jumped too.

He then ran to a fence, climbed over with Omar in his arms, and sought shelter at a nearby home until the evening.

“He feels so much guilt that he lived but so many of his friends died,” Ethar said. “So many of the men who greeted him when they entered the mosque were killed. That ‘salam’ was their last goodbye.”

One of Shatnawi’s friends was 33-year-old Atta Elayyan, a goalkeeper for a New Zealand futsal team. He was recently recognized as one of the country’s most transformative technology and digital leaders in 2017 and 2018. Elayyan was killed in the attack.

It was difficult for Arwa’s son to comprehend what had happened, she said. But it was even more difficult for her sister in New Zealand to face the reality of what took place in her city — in a country that rarely sees gun violence.

New Zealand’s homicide rate is at its lowest in years; 35 people were killed in 2017 according to the latest statistics. Friday’s terrorism attack surpassed that.

“We experience this more often than they do,” Arwa said of mass shootings. “It really is such a foreign thing for them.”

In addition to mass shootings, the majority of American fatalities at the hands of extremists are from right-wing terrorists, according to a report published by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. And hate crimes against American Muslims have increased by 15 percent, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“This was a white supremacist terror attack,” read a statement from CAIR. “It was the attacker’s intent that their actions would make people around the world feel less safe.”

Back in New Zealand, Ethar didn’t want to feel overcome with fear by the tragic loss in her community. She had lived in New Zealand for six years, and is set to complete her doctorate in civil engineering in May.

‘I want to feel safe’

“I went on a walk to the university, because I want to feel safe.” Ethar said. “I have to get over my fears; otherwise I won’t be able to live.”

But Ethar said all she saw on her walk was the sorrow in everyone’s eyes as she passed them.

“I wish I could tell them I am OK,” she said. “I love this country, even now. It’s our country, and we have given more to New Zealand than we take.”

Ethar spent her weekend holding her son and watching “Finding Nemo” with him.

“He asked me not to take him to the mosque,” she said. “Anything he asked for, I gave him.”

But she couldn’t give him back his favorite pair of shoes.

Omar, who – like everyone else – removed his shoes upon entering the mosque, pressed his mother to retrieve them.

New Zealand authorities have not yet allowed survivors to enter the crime scene to collect their belongings.

Shatnawi’s car remains in the mosque parking lot, and he plans to retrieve it when the area is reopened. But many other vehicles there will not be reclaimed, as the owners who went to the mosque for prayers that day will never drive back to their homes.

This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 2:30 AM.