Hero Muslim who took on Christchurch mosque killer Brenton Tarrant with card machine faces in court 

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The Christchurch mosque hero who hurled a card machine at Brenton Tarrant before chasing him down the street has faced the ‘coward’ again in court.

Tarrant gunned down 51 Muslim worshipers in New Zealand‘s worst mass shooting on March 15 last year. 

Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah, an Afghani-born Australian citizen, rushed towards Tarrant as he fired on innocent men, women and children at the Linwood Islamic Centre.

Moments earlier, Tarrant had massacred more than 40 people at the nearby Al Noor mosque. 

The 29-year-old mass murderer has sat in the Christchurch High Court dock for three days, hearing 91 statements from victims, while offering little emotion.

Delivering his victim impact statement on Wednesday, Mr Wahabzadah looked Tarrant in the eyes and said: ‘You know the face … the one who chase you out.’

‘You should thank Allah I didn’t catch you on that day. You will never forget these two eyes you run from,’ he said. 

During Tarrant’s deadly rampage, he returned to his car at the mosque’s driveway after firing the first shots. 

Mr Wahabzadah was praying close to the mosque’s entry when the shooting started.

He bravely picked up a nearby card [Eftpos] machine and ran outside after Tarrant, who was clad in a bulletproof vest, army clothes and a helmet with a camera in the front. 

‘At first I thought it was somebody from the government trying to come for our protection, then this coward (said), “Who the hell are you?”, just started swearing at me. I threw the Eftpos machine at his head, then he started shooting at me,’ he said.

Mr Wahabzadah managed to dive between two cars to avoid the bullets. He then picked up one of Tarrant’s discarded rifles and threw it at his car window as he attempted to flee.

‘When I smashed the window I could feel in his eyes fear for his own life. He gave me the finger and told me, “I f**king killed all of you”,’ Mr Wahabzadah told the court.

Mr Wahabzadah said Tarrant’s bone-chilling words ‘hurt a lot’ to hear because he wasn’t fully aware of the carnage he had caused.

He picked up the rifle again and chased Tarrant’s car down the street, before being arrested briefly because police through he was the shooter.    

While at the police station giving his statement, Mr Wahabzadah begged officers to let him have ’15 minutes in a cell’ with Tarrant. 

Justice Cameron Mander praised Mr Wahabzadah’s courage, which prompted applause from the courtroom.  

As part of the lengthy sentencing process, a key part of New Zealand’s justice system, Tarrant was expected to give some explanation for his crimes, or offer mitigating evidence.

Instead, he signalled his intent to waive those rights and elect not to speak at his own sentencing. Standby counsel Philip Hall will instead make brief remarks on his behalf.

Tarrant will then be sentenced, bringing to an end New Zealand’s longest criminal sentencing.

One of his victims, Aden Diriye, said he will never forgive Tarrant for killing his three-year-old son.

Toddler Mucaad Ibrahim was killed by Tarrant at Al Noor mosque last year while clinging to the leg of Mr Diriye, who miraculously survived.

‘You have killed my son and to me it is like you have killed the whole of New Zealand,’ Mr Diriye said in a statement delivered by another of his sons, Abdiramen Aden Ibrahim.

Justice Cameron Mander gave special compensation for the three-year-old to be named contrary to usual laws.

‘I will never forget how he played in the mosque and made friends with all who attended,’ Mr Diriye said.

‘The horrendous crime this evil man committed has shattered our lives. However we still love and feel we belong in this country,’ he said, turning to Tarrant.

‘Your atrocity and hatred did not turn out the way you expected … instead it has united our Christchurch community, strengthened our faith, raised the honour of our families and brought our peaceful nation together.

‘Know that true justice is waiting for you in the next life, and that will be far more severe.

‘I will never forgive you for what you have done.’

The testimony came on another emotionally charged day in Christchurch.

John Milne asked Justice Mander to ‘send Brenton back to Australia where he came from’.

Ahad Nabi gave a venomous address to Tarrant, who has given little away during his time in the dock, concluding with a middle-fingered gesture to the terrorist.

Abdul Aziz, hailed as a hero for confronting the terrorist and scaring him away from Linwood Islamic Centre, said he begged police for ’15 minutes in the cell’ with Tarrant.

‘They refused. I understand they have to follow the law,’ he said.

‘You should thank Allah that I didn’t catch you on that day,’ he added to the 29-year-old Australian.

After his address, Justice Mander congratulated him and Mr Aziz left to a standing ovation.

‘Before you go. I’ve seen the video. And I want to acknowledge your courage,’ the judge said.

Other speakers choked up, openly wept or recited Koranic verse during their statements, describing loss of loved ones or and their continued grief.

The sentencing has also been expanded to involve more victims who previously did not intend to speak.

One such woman was Sara Qasem, whose emotional vulnerability drew tears across the courtroom when she described her murdered father, Abdelfattah Qasem.

Ms Qasem said she was a ‘daughter of a hero. Daughter of a shining, glimmering man … daughter of a martyr’.

‘I’d never really known what the meaning of a broken heart was until then,’ she said.

‘I want to go on more road trips with him.

‘Smell his garden-sourced cooking. His cologne … to hear his deep belly laugh.

‘I want to hear him tell me more about the olive trees in Palestine. I want to hear his voice.’