A little girl shot in the Christchurch mosque attacks and flown to hospital in Auckland is the daughter of a Jordanian barber, who was also gunned down beside her.
Wasseim Alsati and his daughter, aged just 4, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in Friday’s massacre in which a lone gunman opened fire on Muslim worshippers at two mosques in the city.
Alsati, also known as Wasseim Sati, posted a video to Facebook from his hospital bed asking friends and family to “please pray for me and my daughter”.
The married father of four children is barely audible in the video, in which he says he is very tired, but manages to thank everyone for their kind messages of support.
“I will not be able to answer them. I am just posting this video to show you that I am fully okay. God bless you all.”
Alsati and his daughter were at the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Ave when they were shot just after 1.40pm on Friday.
Police have arrested and charged Australian Brenton Tarrant with murder, with more charges expected.
A friend of Alsati and his wife Asma Daraghmeh, Carolyne Phillips, posted on his Facebook page at lunchtime on Saturday that he had gone in for more surgery to “get shrapnel and bone out of his hip socket”.
“He has already had surgery for a perforated bowel and an injury to his pelvis. I will let you all know when he’s out of surgery.”
Phillips said she had spoken with Daraghmeh, who was at Starship children’s hospital in Auckland with the couple’s injured daughter Alin, who was then in surgery.
Alsati moved from Jordan’s capital Amman to New Zealand in 2014 with his wife and worked at Revive Hairdressing.
In 2017 and 2018 he won the Ray Astwood Barbering Event and he had just set up his own barbering business Wass’ Barbers.
A former client and friend of Alsati’s from Jordan, Fahad Drarjeh, said she woke to the news that her old friend and his daughter had been injured in the devastating attack.
The hotel manager based in the United States said she was shocked at the news people were being killed in a place of worship.
“And immediately I saw a post that had Wasseim’s photo on it with his daughters. The post says to wish Wasseim and his daughter to recover from their injuries.”
Drarjeh launched a fundraiser which had attraction donations totalling US$4000 ($5843) in one day.
She was confident of reaching the US$10,000 goal and said the money was for food, rent and other necessities.
On the Facebook fundraiser she created for him, Drarjeh wrote that Alsati would not be able to work while he recovered.
“As his friends we should all support him not only spiritually but financially as well.”
She called the attack “heartbreaking” and said innocent people had died because of extreme hatred and ignorance.
“May God rest their souls in peace and our deepest condolences to their families.”
Friends and former clients paid tribute to Alsati on Facebook calling him “lovely” and a “beautiful soul”.
On his Revive Hairdressing bio Alsati said he loved barbering and hairdressing and his specialities were threading, texturing and fades, and beard trims.
He aimed to be teaching barbering skills internationally within the next decade.
-NewstalkZB
Featured image: Wasseim Alsati and his daughter suffered gunshot injuries at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch. Photo / Twitter
