Christchurch terror attack inquest: Senior police officer unaware injured victims left alone in Al Noor Mosque

One of the first paramedics on scene at Christchurch's Al Noor Mosque has responded to criticism from police officers that St John was slow to arrive on scene after the terror attack.

The inquest into the 2019 mass shooting that left 51 people dead has earlier heard that St John staff did not enter the Deans Avenue mosque until about 30 minutes after the terrorist had left.

Many police officers have given evidence, expressing frustration that their requests to have ambulances "come forward" to help many severely injured worshippers seemingly went unactioned.

Some spoke of seeing ambulances further up Deans Avenue when they were asking for them to roll in.

Ambulance officer Craig Stockdale told the Coroners Court on Tuesday afternoon: "The ambulances were not simply stopped".

Stockdale said St John treated its first patient related to the attack at nearby Argyle on the Park Motel at 1.56pm.

He and his colleague were then treating another patient when police approached, asking them to drive down to the scene and help further victims.

In an unusual circumstance, Stockdale said they then drove down to the scene - which had not been deemed safe - with the patient still in the ambulance.

Stockdale said actions taken by St John staff during the response to the attack was not something he would like to see become routine.

Staff repeatedly entered the mosque while it was still unsafe, he said.

There was the potential for a shooter to return, as well as a backpack that had been pointed out as a potential improvised explosive device (IED).

Protocol stated that on learning of an IED, St John are meant to drop everything, get out and wait until the scene is made safe.

But Stockdale said the risk of people dying was "too high", so staff continued to work despite the extreme risk involved.

"We made our decisions on the day, but I would not want our response to become a required practice for general ambulance staff. Had things gone less well, we could have an injured or dead responder and an investigation into how and why."

Stockdale said staff continued to act despite the significant risk in and around the mosque.

"Prudence would have suggested we wait until the scene was known to be safer. That may have taken several hours and would have compromised patient outcomes. We sought to avoid compromise to patients by entering the scene in the mosque earlier and utilising a tailored approach to mitigate the apparent risk. I believe that we helped to save lives and improve outcomes."

Stockdale told the court the scene at Al Noor Mosque was "chaotic" when he arrived and he declared it a mass casualty event.

There were injured and deceased people all around, Stockdale said.

Uninjured people were distressed with blood-stained clothing.

A man carrying a deceased toddler approached him.

Stockdale became emotional, saying he regretted not having the time to properly support and console him.

Senior police officer unaware injured victims left alone in Al Noor Mosque

A senior police officer only discovered people badly injured in the terror attack at Christchurch's Al Noor Mosque were left alone in the building days or weeks afterwards, the inquest heard earlier on Tuesday.

The policeman, who cannot be named, was responsible for co-ordinating officers arriving at the scene.

The inquest earlier heard the first Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members to enter the Deans Avenue mosque abruptly left after hearing reports of more shots fired at the Linwood Islamic Centre.

They reassured worshippers who survived the Al Noor attack that more help was on the way, but it was another 10 minutes before any other police, along with paramedics, went back inside.

The senior policeman told the Coroners Court he thought AOS members were inside the mosque the whole time, but he later learnt that was not the case.

"I found out days and weeks later on. I can't give you an exact timeframe," he said.

The inquest earlier heard one of the AOS members who left Al Noor Mosque believed the police officer would find a replacement for his team inside.

But today, the policeman said he was never told to replace the AOS members leaving for Linwood.

He said he would have suggested the team stay and reassure the injured until paramedics arrived to treat them.

The police officer said there had never been a debrief about the victims being left alone at Al Noor Mosque.

Family lawyer Anne Toohey questioned the officer about the presence of just three AOS members at the mosque once the rest had left for Linwood.

"I've driven home and seen more police at a traffic incident than that. Did this, at the time, seem incredibly thin on the ground to you in terms of a police presence at what must have been New Zealand's worst crime scene?"

The policeman said he was assured by the AOS that there were enough staff to maintain control outside and reassure and monitor victims.

He conceded communication on the day was problematic and information was not relayed as it should have been.

The senior officer, who had been with police more than 30 years, said he had not had training for a mass casualty event.

The inquest will examine the following 10 issues over six weeks:

• Events of 15 March 2019 from the commencement of the attack until the terrorist's formal interview by police
• Response times and entry processes of police and ambulance officers at each mosque
• Triage and medical response at each mosque
• The steps that were taken to apprehend the offender
• The role of, and processes undertaken by, Christchurch Hospital in responding to the attack
• Coordination between emergency services and first responders
• Whether the terrorist had any direct assistance from any other person on 15 March 2019
• If raised by immediate family, and to the extent it can be ascertained, the final movements and time of death for each of the deceased
• The cause of death for each of the victims and whether any deaths could have been avoided
• Whether Al Noor Mosque emergency exit door in the southeast corner of the main prayer room failed to function during the attack and, if so, why?

The inquest continues.