'Never be afraid': mourners gather at B.C. mosque to grieve Christchurch victims

Mourners lined the steps into the Al-Jamia Masjid in Vancouver with flowers Friday night, draped a flag of New Zealand over the railing, and piled hundreds of pairs shoes neatly outside.

One-by-one, they filled the mosque to capacity, praying for those killed and wounded in the terror attacks in Christchurch.

Fifty people were killed and dozens injured after a lone gunman, who identified himself as a white supremacist, started shooting during Friday prayers.

Haroon Khan, from the Al-Jamia Masjid on West 8th Avenue, said when a tragedy like a mass shooting happens, people need to process their grief and trauma. 

"People feel the need to bear witness and people feel the need to do something about it ... because it could very well be them, or it could have been their loved ones," Khan said. 

For Colleen Cannon, it's her second time mourning a shooting at a mosque. She first came to grieve those murdered in the Quebec mosque shooting in 2017.

"It's heartbreaking to think I'm back here again a year and half later," Cannon said. 

Tian Rabbani, 22, had a message for Muslims around the world. "Never be afraid to practice your religion, your culture or anything that means something to you," she said.

"Our prayers are with everybody in New Zealand."