'There's a likelihood we're going to die': Christchurch terror arrest cops break silence, detail arrest of gunman

The two Christchurch police officers who arrested the man responsible for the March 15 terror attack have broken their silence - detailing for the first time how they apprehended the mass murderer and how they feared for their lives at the time.

Senior Constables Jim Manning and Scott Carmody arrested the man behind New Zealand's first terrorist attack 17 minutes after he first opened fire on worshippers at the Al Noor Mosque.

The offender fatally wounded 51 men, women and children and injured another 40 people who had gathered at Al Noor and the nearby Linwood Mosque for Friday prayers.

When news of the shooting broke Manning and Carmody - both from police stations in the wider Canterbury area - were attending routine tactical training at Princess Margaret Hospital.

They were focusing on armed offender and room clearance exercises when they were told there was a shooting and there were many dead and injured people.

The pair have not been able to speak to the Herald since the terror attack outside written statements via Police National Headquarters - but were interviewed by in-house magazine Ten One.

The story was published today after it was announced both Manning and Carmody had received New Zealand Bravery Awards for their efforts.

The pair described how, when they found out about the shooting they decided to stick together.

Having known each other for more than 20 years they knew they knew they were a good team in a crisis.

Both officers retrieved their rifle, handgun and Taser, put on ballistic armour, then set off toward the city in Manning's patrol car.

Manning drove and Carmody monitored the police radio - which had constant reports of "multiple casualties and multiple offenders" at Al Noor.

Shots were also reportedly fired at Christchurch Hospital but Manning and Carmody made an educated decision to head elsewhere in the city.

"I was thinking some poor New Brighton community cop's going to be pulling up these guys and he's not going to be armed," Manning told Ten One.

"We need to go wide because we need to be where the police guns aren't."

They turned onto Brougham St and heard a description of the offender's car - a Subaru, registration number KSH90.

Footage of the dramatic arrest. Photo / Supplied

It had been seen on Bealey Ave and there were further reports of a gunman on foot shooting in Linwood as well as shots fired from a car.

Then, the men saw the Subaru.

It had bullet holes in the windscreen, its hazard lights flashing, it ran a red light and was heading towards them.

Manning pulled a U-turn.

He and Carmody both knew they had to stop the car at "whatever the cost".

"I was thinking 'there's a good likelihood we're going to die'," Manning said.

"But I remember looking across at Scotty and thinking 'this guy's got it, I've got it, we've got it, this is us'.

"It's like we were heading down the Valley of Death and my brain said 'fear's no good to you, mate'.

"Turn that off and deal with what's in front of you and you'll stay alive'."

Carmody believed that was "the way police are wired".

"You have to do something," he said.

"Doing nothing is much harder than doing something, even if the something is not something you would necessarily choose."

As the gunman weaved in and out of traffic the officers closed in.

They were sure the killer - or any passengers - would start shooting.

Carmody had his rifle in hand and he was ready to respond.

"I kept telling myself 'when the windscreen shatters, don't stop'," Manning told Ten One.

"Keep driving, Scotty will know what to do. Whatever happens, he'll be there."

Several minutes later there was a break in the traffic.

This was their moment - the Subaru was exposed.

"We're going in," said Manning.

He explained how he "floored the accelerator" and angled the police car into the Subaru driver's door, aiming to incapacitate the driver.

Senior Constables Jim Manning and Scott Carmody. Photo / Supplied

He had noticed at an earlier crash scene that when a vehicle hit another at a certain angle the airbag did not deploy and he hoped that would be the case with the deliberate ramming.

It would give Carmody a clean exit to run for the killer.

Luckily, Manning's plan worked.

Carmody - with a long experience of protection services work and who had trained in exiting a moving vehicle - exited the patrol car before it had stopped.

He circled the Subaru and noted there was only one occupant.

Manning then got out of the police car, armed with his pistol, expecting a firefight.

Then he saw Carmody with his rifle trained on the driver and he realised there must be only one offender present.

The offender had multiple firearms within reach and a long-bladed knife attached to his bulletproof vest.

Carmody told Manning to get into the car from behind and handcuff the driver.

But when Manning opened the hatch he saw what appeared to be four improvised incendiary devices - petrol cans with objects taped to them.

They told Ten One that they knew they had to get the driver out without delay.

They feared he might be able to remotely detonate the devices.

The men threw the firearms from the vehicle then Manning reached in and grabbed the driver.

"I remember thinking 'when he blows up this is going to really, really hurt'," he relayed to Ten One.

Thankfully, there was no explosion.

Manning dragged the driver out, dumped him on his back on the footpath.

"He was squirming a wee bit," Carmody recalled.

"I noticed his hands were fishing in his vest.

"I didn't know if he had a detonator for the explosives, or was going for his knife, or whether he had another weapon concealed in his clothing."

Carmody considered shooting the man because of the potential threat - but there was the risk of a ricochet hitting his mate Manning.

"So I reversed my weapon and struck him with the butt, with the intention of rendering him unconscious," he said.

The gunman then went limp and the officers turned him, cuffed him and dragged him down the street.

The heroic arrest was captured on camera by passersby.

Carmody and Manning then spoke to the murderer - trying to find out anything about other offenders or danger that they could relay to emergency comms.

He told the officers there were five, nine or 10 military or police-trained gunmen "carrying out coordinated attacks on Muslim targets in Christchurch and nationwide, and 50 around the world".

Police converged on the scene and the car was cordoned off.

Carmody stayed put, helping keep members of the public away and evacuate nearby homes.

Manning and another officer took the offender to the police station.

Both officers received the New Zealand Bravery Decoration for their acts of exceptional bravery in a situation of danger.

"Receiving this honour is a huge privilege but any police officer in that situation would have done the same thing," Manning said.

Carmody said he and Manning wanted to acknowledge the victims of the attacks - as well as their colleagues who were also working that day.

"The victims and their loved ones will always be front of mind for us," he said.

"And there were many, many people involved in the response including many of our fellow police officers. This award really is for every one of our colleagues involved in that response.

"All of them were prepared to put themselves in harm's way, and it could have been any one of them that came across that car on that day."

The man responsible for the terror attack is serving a life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole.