A man who died in the Christchurch terror attack trying to take down the gunman to protect others has been posthumously honoured with New Zealand's highest bravery award.
Naeem Rashid was praying at the Al Noor mosque with his 21-year-old son Talha on the afternoon of March 15 when the gunman opened fire.
Dr Rashid, 50, was fatally wounded trying to rush the gunman in an attempt to tackle him.
On Thursday morning, he was awarded the New Zealand Cross.
"Dr Rashid collided with the gunman, grabbing him and knocking him to the ground. The impact dislodged one of the ammunition magazines from the gunman's tactical vest," the award citation reads.
As the gunman fell, he turned the rifle and again fired at Dr Rashid, who was now lying on the floor. The gunman regained his feet and shot the wounded Dr Rashid, killing him, before continuing to shoot others in the main prayer room.
"In a situation of extreme danger, Dr Rashid displayed great courage and bravery in challenging the gunman, with complete disregard for his own safety. In so doing, he selflessly enabled others to escape, at the cost of his own life."
Also awarded the New Zealand Cross was Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah. When the gunman began opening fire at Linwood Mosque, Aziz went out of the mosque to try to find something to defend himself with.
All he could find was an Eftpos machine.
Aziz saw the terrorist in a bulletproof vest and military clothes by his car in the mosque's driveway and threw the Eftpos machine at the gunman's head.
"When Mr Aziz was around 15 metres away, the gunman fired at least three shots at him with the semi-automatic rifle. Mr Aziz ducked down between parked cars and made his way through the vehicles towards the rear of the mosque," the award citation says.
"On his way to the rear of the Mosque, Mr Aziz noticed bodies of worshippers on the ground and a discarded lever-action rifle, which made him realise the gunman had a new firearm. He checked to see if the lever-action rifle was loaded but it was not.
"Hearing more shots from inside the Mosque, Mr Aziz took the empty discarded rifle and made his way towards the front of the Mosque, yelling to get the gunman's attention.
"The gunman saw Mr Aziz carrying the discarded rifle, dropped his gun and ran to his car. Mr Aziz chased after him and, while the gunman was sitting in his car, threw the gunman's discarded rifle at the back left window of the car, smashing it. The gunman drove off, with Aziz continuing to chase him for a time down Linwood Ave.
"Mr Aziz's brave actions deterred the gunman from re-entering this mosque to kill and maim others and ultimately forced the gunman to flee the mosque," the citation says.
Others also won awards for their actions that day.
The New Zealand Bravery Decoration was awarded to Liam Beale, who was driving past Al Noor Mosque when he heard gunshots. He immiediately got out of his car with a first aid kit and started helping victims.
"Mr Beale found a young girl with gunshot wounds lying face down on the pavement. He ran to retrieve his last remaining trauma bandage from his car and returned to the girl.
"He pressed a bandage onto her wounds, and picked her up and ran her down the road to where others could assist.
"Mr Beale placed his own life at risk, bravely searching for victims, assisting them and moving them to safety, while the gunman was active in the area."
In total, bravery awards were given to 10 people for their heroic actions on the day of the Christchurch terror attack.
Dr Rashid's wife, Ambreen Naeem, said she was grateful her husband's bravery was being recognised.
"Naeem was a brave man, he was kind and loving. He was a true follower of the peaceful faith of Islam, which is the complete code of life.
"Throughout his life, he always put others before him. On March 15 2019, in those difficult circumstances, knowing the consequences, he tackled hate.
"I wish Naeem’s mother would be here with me who gave birth and raised such a brave man. Me and my sons are so proud of Naeem."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the courage demonstrated by those given awards was extraordinary.
"They have our deepest respect and gratitude for their actions on that day," she said in a statement.
Ardern also acknowledged Senior Constables Scott Carmody and Jim Manning, the police officers who arrested the gunman, who were also awarded the New Zealand Bravery Decoration.
"Their actions that day went above and beyond - they essentially ended the gunman's attack and did so not knowing whether he had an additional arsenal on hand," Ardern said.
Full awards list and brief summaries:
NZ Cross
Naeem Rashid (posthumous)
Abdul Aziz
NZBD
Liam Beale
Scott Carmody
Jim Manning
Ziyaad Shah
"Mr Shah heard a series of continuous gunshots and became aware of people moving towards him, away from the entrance of the prayer room. Mr Shah deliberately grabbed the man next to him and rolled to his left, shielding the other man with his body.
"Mr Shah decided to pretend to be dead and told the shielded man to remain calm and do the same. He continued to lie on top of him, as the gunman walked around shooting at people continuously.
"Bleeding from his wounds, Mr Shah remained lying down, protecting the other man, until the gunman finally left the mosque."
Lance Bradford
"Mr Lance Bradford was driving his utility vehicle along Deans Avenue in Christchurch at the time of the attack. As he came to the Al Noor Mosque he saw eight to ten individuals lying on the ground in distress in the surrounding area.
"Mr Bradford immediately pulled his vehicle over and began to walk back towards the mosque. As he did so, he could hear the sounds of gunshots and people screaming.
"Mr Bradford began stopping members of the public who were seemingly unaware of the unfolding situation from heading in the direction of the mosque.
"Mr Bradford then made his way towards the mosque, hiding behind cars, and found a man and young girl, who had both been shot. While another man was assisting the young girl, Mr Bradford assisted the wounded man.
"With help from others, Mr Bradford loaded the wounded man and young girl into the vehicle, along with another man who had been shot in the leg. Mr Bradford then drove the victims to the Christchurch Hospital emergency department."
Wayne Maley
"Mr Wayne Maley and a colleague were driving in a large utility vehicle along Deans Ave in Christchurch, near the vicinity of the Al Noor Mosque, at around 1:40pm.
"As they continued along the road, he could also see people falling over on the footpath. Mr Maley realised the severity of the situation and could see cars on the other side of the road heading towards them that would then drive past the Mosque and into danger.
"He swung his vehicle across the lanes at the end of a traffic island, and with his colleague began directing traffic to turn around.
"He joined others assisting nearby to plan an evacuation of four victims from within the cordon. Mr Maley and his colleague helped load four victims into a vehicle, which then left the scene.
"Mr Maley and his colleague continued to provide assistance to victims until ambulance personnel arrived."
Mark Miller
"Mr Mark Miller and a colleague were driving in their work vehicle along Deans Ave in Christchurch, near the vicinity of the Al Noor Mosque at around 1:40pm. As they drove towards the mosque they heard gunfire and witnessed between five to eight people being shot and falling to the ground.
"Mr Miller's colleague stopped the vehicle around 100 metres from the mosque and said to Mr Miller they should go back to help. Mr Miller left the vehicle and ran towards the first victim he saw on the ground.
"He crawled between cars onto the footpath and tried to move the man, but was unable to do so. He stayed with him to provide comfort and assistance.
"Another man approached Mr Miller and helped move the wounded man onto his side. Together they administered first aid to the gunshot wound on the man’s back, and Mr Miller helped hold the man upright as he was having trouble breathing.
"The Police arrived soon afterwards and Mr Miller stayed with the man assisting him until the victim died a short while later. Mr Miller moved to help lift another victim onto a gurney and load him into an ambulance, before finally leaving the scene."
Mike Robinson
"Mr Mike Robinson and a colleague were driving in a large utility vehicle along Deans Ave in Christchurch, near the vicinity of the Al Noor Mosque, at around 1:40pm. They heard gunshots coming from the vicinity of the mosque, and observed the gunman firing a weapon and people falling over in the grounds of the mosque.
"They could see people lying on the road and the footpath back towards the Mosque so approached to help. They came across several victims who had been shot and provided assistance to them.
"Mr Robinson pulled a gunshot victim to shelter between parked cars. He then proceeded as close as possible to the mosque, but found no further victims and returned to the others.
"Mr Robinson and his colleague continued to provide assistance to victims until ambulance personnel arrived."
