Police officer describes horror scene after Christchurch mosque attacks

A mourner outside the Linwood Islamic Centre a week after the Christchurch terror attacks. Photo / Michael Craig

By Danielle Clent of RNZ

A policewoman has tearfully recounted fearing for her life as she came across people dead, injured and yelling for help in the driveway of Christchurch’s Linwood Islamic Centre following the 2019 terror attack.

Constable Coral-Ann Bowler was one of the first to arrive at the scene following reports of a shooting at the mosque on March 15, after the gunman had murdered worshippers at nearby Al Noor Mosque.

She became emotional describing the horror she encountered when she arrived in Linwood Avenue minutes after the attack that left seven people dead.

“As I approached the driveway, I felt sick. I thought there was a very good chance I was going to be shot or seriously injured,” she said.

She told the Coroners Court she could hear people yelling for help and saw a group of men walking towards her.

“They looked stunned and were pointing back up the driveway. They were yelling that they needed help, they were yelling they need an ambulance.”

As she walked up the driveway, Bowler said she saw two people lying on the ground who appeared to be dead.

She said other officers and Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members arrived soon after her, but many of them did not have guns and were not in uniform.

Bowler told the court she was unhappy when officers asked for both of her weapons, hesitating at first because she did not know exactly who they were.

Police officers keep watch outside the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch a year after the terrorist attack. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“I was very unhappy about this as I was left with no way to defend myself or the public and at that point, we believed there were multiple active shooters,” she said.

While standing at a cordon, Bowler said she was approached by someone from the mosque who had taken a video that showed worshippers on the mosque floor and people who had been shot.

She was later shown a video of the terrorist’s livestream on Facebook.

“I didn’t believe it was real. It looked like a video game,” she said.

Bowler told the court none of her training had prepared her for the situation she faced that day.

“I don’t think any training could equip you for what happened that day,” she said.

Another policewoman also became upset describing the aftermath of the Linwood shooting.

She said she felt uneasy when a white van approached a cordon, because police still believed there were multiple shooters in the Christchurch area.

The officer said she began to lift her rifle into a ready position when a Caucasian man yelled out the driver’s window: “I agree with what they have done, I support it”.

The policewoman told the court she was shocked by his comments that “enraged” people waiting near the cordon.

She said she reported the remarks over the police radio and another officer ran after the van.

The officer told the court she had been trained in hate crime but could not recall if it was before or after the terror attack.

The inquest will examine the following 10 issues over six weeks:

• Events of March 15, 2019 from the commencement of the attack until the terrorist’s formal interview by police
• Response times and entry processes of police and ambulance officers at each mosque
• Triage and medical response at each mosque
• The steps that were taken to apprehend the offender
• The role of, and processes undertaken by, Christchurch Hospital in responding to the attack
• Coordination between emergency services and first responders
• Whether the terrorist had any direct assistance from any other person on March 15, 2019
• If raised by immediate family, and to the extent it can be ascertained, the final movements and time of death for each of the deceased
• The cause of death for each of the victims and whether any deaths could have been avoided
• Whether Al Noor Mosque emergency exit door in the southeast corner of the main prayer room failed to function during the attack and, if so, why?

The inquest continues.