People will come together in a show of unity in Lincoln after 49 people were killed and at least 20 injured in terrorist attacks at two mosques in New Zealand.

One attacker live-streamed video footage of him shooting men, women and children inside the Al-Noor mosque.

A man aged in his late 20s has been charged with murder and two other men and a woman have been detained.

Members of the public react in front of the Masjd Al Noor Mosque in New Zealand as they fear for their relatives

People were also killed at the Linwood mosque in a Christchurch suburb and one further person died in hospital.

The reaction in Lincoln

Tanweer Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Association of Lincoln, told Lincolnshire Live that people from many faiths will be joining together at the Lincoln mosque in Dixon Street at 1.30pm today, Friday, March 15.

He said: "These terrible and horrific shootings are shocking for all of us.

Worshippers in Lincoln

"I have received many messages of support from other faiths, from Jews and Christians, and we will be standing together after prayers today.

"These people will not divide us whether we are Muslims or people of other faiths.

"When so-called Muslims kill people of other faiths we condemn their actions and likewise we condemn what has happened in New Zealand and we remain united.

"It seems that wherever you worship in the world you are not safe and we have seen shootings in churches and in mosques."

The Lincoln mosque in Dixon Street

He added: "But the most important thing is for people of all faiths to be united."

Mr Ahmed told BBC Radio Lincolnshire that he would be approaching the police to ask for extra security.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones tweeted of his sadness that communities in New Zealand had been torn about by "twisted hatred".

Lincoln Cathedral chaplain Jayson Rhodes, who is originally from New Zealand but is in the country at the moment, told the BBC: “It is the darkest day in and there is disbelief everywhere.”

An 'unprecedented' crime

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern earlier said that at least 20 other people had been seriously injured, and described it as "one of New Zealand's darkest days", adding: "What has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence."

The man charged with murder is expected to appear in court on Saturday morning.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier said one of the people arrested was an Australian citizen, and described the suspected attacker as an "extremist right-wing violent terrorist".

The country's police commissioner, Mike Bush, said three other people were apprehended, adding: "We believe one of those persons, who was armed and was at the scene, may have had nothing to do with this incident.

"And the two other people that have been apprehended, again in possession of firearms in the general environment, we are working through to understand what their involvement is.

"We have recovered a number of firearms from both of the scenes."

Mr Bush said the attack was a "very well-planned event".

Asked if the police were searching for any other suspects, he said: "We never assume that there aren't other people involved, that's why we've got an immense presence out there ... but we don't have named or identified people that we are looking for, but it would be wrong to assume that there is no-one else."

He added: "At this point we are not actively looking for any identified persons."

A number of improvised explosive devices found on a vehicle after the shootings were defused by police.

How the incident unfolded

Officers responded to reports of shots fired in central Christchurch at about 1.40pm local time (12.40am GMT), and urged people in the area to stay indoors.

All schools in the city were put into lockdown as the situation unfolded.

When the death toll stood at 40, it was known that 30 people were killed at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch, seven were killed inside the suburban Linwood Masjid Mosque, and three died outside the same mosque.

Police urged all mosques across New Zealand to shut their doors in the wake of the incident.

Members of the Bangladesh cricket team, currently on tour in New Zealand, said on social media that they had nearly been caught up in the tragedy.

Tamim Iqbal tweeted: "Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers", while Mushfiqur Rahim said: "Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque...we r extremely lucky...never want to see this things happen again.... pray for us".

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