Survivor of the Al Noor mosque shootings, Temel Atacocugu, center, exchanges a hongi with a member of the Tu Tangata motorcycle club outside the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, March 15, 2020. A national memorial in New Zealand to commemorate the 51 people who were killed when a gunman attacked two mosques one year ago has been canceled due to fears over the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — People in the New Zealand city of Christchurch honored the 51 worshipers who were killed in a mass shooting a year ago in small but poignant ways Sunday, after a planned national memorial event was canceled due to fears it might spread the new coronavirus.
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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — People in the New Zealand city of Christchurch honored the 51 worshipers who were killed in a mass shooting a year ago in small but poignant ways Sunday, after a planned national memorial event was canceled due to fears it might spread the new coronavirus.
Outside the Al Noor mosque, dozens of leather-clad bikers from the Tu Tangata club performed a traditional Maori haka. They were welcomed by mosque imam Gamal Fouda, who said people of all beliefs and cultures were stopping to pay their respects, and they were all united as New Zealanders.
One of those who survived the shooting at the Linwood mosque was Mazharuddin Syed Ahmed, who said that marking anniversaries was not typically a Muslim tradition but they were doing it so the wider community could grieve and remember. He said the shootings had provoked an outpouring of love and compassion.
"Of course, we lost our loved friends, family, people and community," he said. "But we are also seeing so much good has come out of it. So looking at the positive part of that. Today, it is such a privilege to be in this country."
Temel Atacocugu, who survived after being shot nine times at the Al Noor mosque, said the anniversary had provoked strong feelings.
"We are sad more than we are angry," he said. "It's very emotional. When I woke up this morning, I'm speechless. I can't explain what I feel."
In this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, photo, Al Noor mosque shooting survivor Temel Atacocugu points to the scar of a bullet wound in his arm during an interview at his home in Christchurch, New Zealand. When the gunman walked into the mosque, Atacocugu was kneeling for Friday prayers. He looked up into the man's face, thinking he was a police officer because of his paramilitary outfit. Time slowed. Temel saw a puff of smoke come from the raised gun, felt a bullet smash into his teeth, and thought: "Oh, my God, I'm dying." (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — When the gunman walked into the Al Noor mosque, Temel Atacocugu was kneeling for Friday prayers.
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On the day of the attacks, Atacocugu was in a buoyant mood when he walked into the mosque. An active man who loves soccer, fishing and running, he'd just finished his last acupuncture session for a sports injury and was feeling in great shape.
Growing up in Turkey, he'd been through compulsory military training, so he quickly realized what was happening. Medical staff would later tell him he was incredibly fortunate that the bullet, which struck his upper jaw, deflected downward rather than continuing into his brain or an artery.
Atacocugu says that after that first shot to his mouth, he leapt up in shock and was shot four more times in both legs. People were screaming. Another worshipper rushed at the gunman and was killed, but it gave Atacocugu a couple of seconds to react, and to run as best he could.
There was no obvious way out, so he laid down motionless on the floor. He was later shot four more times in his left arm and leg as the gunman fired indiscriminately into the piles of bodies.
Atacocugu spent a month in a hospital and underwent four operations that included bone and skin grafts. He'll need at least three more surgeries in the months to come.
"The biggest change after the attack was that I can't be free the same as before," Atacocugu says. "Because very limited moving around. And I was feeling like a little baby, because somebody has to look after me all the time."
Yet his physical recovery a year later is remarkable. The wheelchair and cane are gone. His left arm remains weakened, but when he walks down the street or plays with his Labradoodle dog, Max, Atacocugu's limp is barely noticeable.
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A few weeks ago, he started playing soccer again with a group of his friends, joking that these days he's being outrun by fit men in their 70s. In one game, he showed off his skills by tackling, spot kicking and back-heeling a pass.
Atacocugu's mental recovery is taking longer. He's been seeing a psychologist who's helping him work through the images and flashbacks that still haunt him.
"He's trying to pull out the dark spot from my brain," he says.
Atacocugu has experienced bouts of depression and has been taking antidepressants since the shooting. He figures he'll need to keep taking the medication for at least another year. He's found that his memory and ability to concentrate have also been affected.
He says he doesn't want to keep working at the kebab shop he ran with a business partner at the time of the attack and is now trying to sell his stake. He's helped out at the shop a couple of times since the shooting but has found himself nervous around strangers, not wanting to explain.
"It's just too crowded and too big," he says. "People keep asking, 'Oh, what's happened to your arm?'"
Atacocugu says he's thinking instead of turning back to his skills as a painter and decorator. It's more peaceful, he says, working alongside a trusted crew with only a single customer to deal with at any one time. He's also recently put in an offer to buy a new home in Christchurch, which he hopes will help him make a fresh start.
Atacocugu moved to the South Pacific country after meeting a New Zealand woman in Turkey and marrying her in 2001. They thought Christchurch would be a good place to raise their children, in an environment that seemed friendly and safe. The couple separated in 2016 and Atacocugu stayed in Christchurch to be near his two teenage sons.
He plans to attend the trial of the 29-year-old Australian white supremacist who is accused of carrying out last year's massacre. Brenton Tarrant has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism, murder and attempted murder, and his trial is scheduled to start in June. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment.
Atacocugu says the way that New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and people throughout the country came together in unity after the shooting shows the gunman has already failed in his quest to sow division. Hate, he says, has lost and love has won.
"As a human, yes, I'm so angry," Atacocugu says. "But also, deep of my heart, my religion makes me calm down and be patient. So I know the New Zealand law system is going to punish this man, this terrorist, as much, as high as can be possible, under the law."
More in the links.
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