A father and his teenage son have been laid to rest as the first funerals take place for victims of the New Zealand terror attack.
Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, were Syrian refugees and were murdered last Friday when a man opened fire at two Christchurch mosques.
Younger brother, Zaed, 13, watched the service from a wheelchair after being shot in the leg during the attack.
Hundreds of people gathered as mourners carried the bodies up to a freshly dug Muslim grave site.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern later told reporters: “I cannot tell you how gutting it is to know that a family came here for safety, for refuge, and they should have been safe here.”
Hamza was a compassionate and hardworking student, said his school principal Mark Wilson, and hoped to become a vet.
The bodies of 30 of the 50 victims have now been approved for release to families, said Ms Ardern, amid frustration from some relatives over the time it has taken.
Muslim burials should take place as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours.
A memorial service for the victims is also being planned which could involve international representatives, said New Zealand’s PM.
She said there would be a two-minute silence a week on from the attack, and that the Muslim call to prayer would be broadcast on TV and radio.
Ms Ardern also visited the school of two of the victims on Wednesday and met police and ambulance staff.
She told them: “I switched on the television and I saw you… I have no doubt you saved lives. And so to everyone who was part of that response, on behalf of New Zealand, thank you.”
The PM told the media an “extraordinary effort” was under way to quickly bring in tighter gun laws – with the outcome due next week.
Brenton Tarrant, the far-right extremist in custody over the attack, was able to buy some weapons online and used a semi-automatic weapon in the massacre.