Christchurch, New Zealand: Survivors of the Christchurch shootings said Thursday the emergency exit door in one of the mosques wouldn't open as people scrambled to get out.
Khaled Alnobani and other survivors of the March 15 mosque attacks in New Zealand have described to The Associated Press a scene of confusion and terror at the door on one side of the main prayer room, in the first accounts of the role the door played.
Alnobani said he thinks as many as 17 people may have died trying to get out through the door.
Investigators have likely examined a new electric locking system installed on the door in the days before the attack.
What is clear is that nobody managed to open the door that afternoon.
With the gunman in the middle of the room, the door represented the only escape route for those on one side of him, at least until people started smashing windows to get out.
49 people were slaughtered by the gunman at two Christchurch mosques during the attack, including 42 who died at Al Noor.
Survivors say that if the door had been wide open like it typically was during Friday prayers, many more people might have escaped.
The mosque says an electrician disabled it the day before the attack, although some survivors question whether that was the case.
Alnobani said he tried to open the door and it didn't work, and he's familiar with the lever.
He said he believes the door was electronically locked.
Simply pushing a button next to the door would have unlocked it, he said, but nobody knew about the new system.
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Another survivor provided a second escape route near the door by diving through a window with his arm wrapped around his eyes.
Tarik Chenafa said he heard a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat and knew right away it was a semi-automatic weapon from his two years of compulsory military training in the Algerian army.
Police said the scene examination is part of their investigation and they will not be commenting while the investigation is ongoing.
