More than $7.4 million donated to help families in NZ shooting

A handout image obtained from Dubai's Public Diplomacy Office on March 23, 2019 shows the Gulf emirate's Burj Khalifa tower lit the previous night with an image of New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in apprciation of her solidarity position with her country's Muslim community following the March 15 massacre of 50 worshippers in a mosque in Christchurch by an Australian white supremacist. (AFP)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, second right, waves as she leaves Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. (AP)

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gestures as she departs following a gathering for congregational Friday prayers and two minutes of silence for victims of the twin mosque massacre, at Hagley Park in Christchurch on March 22, 2109. (AFP)

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern leaves after the Friday prayers at Hagley Park outside Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 22, 2019. (Reuters)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, right, meets muslim men following Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. (AP)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (C) meets with Muslim community leaders after the Parliament session in Wellington on March 19, 2019. (AFP)

• Since then, New Zealanders have responded with an outpouring of support for the country’s small Muslim community

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: More than NZ$10.8 million ($7.4 million) in public donations has been received so far to help families of the 50 people killed in New Zealand’s mosque shootings, according to a pair of fund-raising websites.
A support fund on New Zealand site GiveaLittle.co.nz had received NZ$8,271,847 from more than 91,000 donors as of Sunday, while LaunchGood.com, a global crowdfunding platform focused on Muslims, had netted NZ$2,546,126 from over 40,000 donors.
The slaughter of 50 people at Friday prayers in two Christchurch mosques on March 15 shocked the normally laid-back country and prompted global horror, heightened by the gunman’s cold-blooded livestreaming of the massacre.
Since then, New Zealanders have responded with an outpouring of support for the country’s small Muslim community.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last week that the country would cover the costs of burying the 50 victims as well as “repatriation costs for any family members who would like to move their loved ones away from New Zealand.”
The attack also left dozens of people injured, some critically.
Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder.