Linwood mosque shooting witness came 'within spitting distance' of man with shotgun spraying bullets at cars

March 15, 2019
Emergency services at the scene of the Linwood mosque shooting.

A witness of a shooting at a second mosque in Christchurch says he came within spitting distance of a man with a shotgun spraying bullets at passing vehicles.

Dan is a courier driver and was doing a pickup in Linwood when he heard gunfire at about 1.45pm or 1.50pm.

"We initially thought it was a car backfiring but then the bangs became louder and more frequent, we thought well that can’t be a car backfiring," he told 1 NEWS while in lockdown following the shooting.

"Then I walked to the end of the road and came to the curbside within spitting distance of a man carrying a shotgun spraying bullets at a car going down Linwood Ave yelling and swearing at them."

"The guy walked away, I showed the cops where the gunman was."

The man said he spoke to a man who had come out of the mosque.

"He said they were all sitting there in a row on their knees doing their midday prayer."

"From what I understand from what he told me there was six gunmen, (who) came in and just started shooting and there’s at least four or five people dead inside."

A man is in police custody after shootings at two mosques in Christchurch today. (Source: Other)

Another person told the man that six people jumped out of a window at the mosque and got into a vehicle.

The man said police had swarmed the scene within a couple of minutes.

"From there it was a sea of cops."

Police have confirmed fatalities at the Linwood mosque and another Christchurch mosque.

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