7 Weeks After Christchurch Massacre, a New Death Toll

51st victim dies after surgery
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 3, 2019 12:20 AM CDT
51st Victim of New Zealand Mosque Shootings Dies
A police officer stands guard in front of the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

A Turkish man wounded in the Christchurch mosque shootings seven weeks ago died late Thursday in Christchurch Hospital, raising the death toll to 51, authorities in New Zealand and Turkey confirmed. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday the sad news would be felt across both countries, the AP reports. "This man has been in intensive care since the attack," Ardern said in a statement. "We have all been hoping for the best, however he has now succumbed to the injuries sustained in the shooting at the Al Noor mosque." On Thursday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: "Unfortunately, we have lost our citizen Zekeriya Tuyan who was seriously wounded in the treacherous terrorist attack in Christchurch."

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the father of two was wounded in the back and the leg and died after undergoing surgery. New Zealand police said the man was 46. He was one of three Turkish citizens wounded in the attack. Ardern said of the 49 men, women and children who were shot and wounded in the attacks and taken to hospitals, nine remain hospitalized and all of them are in a stable condition. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist, has been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder in the attacks, although those charges could be amended to reflect the increased death toll. He is next due in court on June 14. (New Zealand brought in strict new gun laws after the massacre.)

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