Mustafa Boztas escaped death by seconds in the Masjid Al Noor in Deans Avenue – and he’s grateful to the Police staff who helped him on the day and continue to offer support.
Mustafa was shot in the right leg when the gunman opened fire. He lay still among the other victims until a lull in the firing gave him a chance to break a window and escape.
He stopped to try to help a teenage boy he found lying outside but was unable to resuscitate him. The boy had died talking to his mother on his cellphone.
He had to flee again as the shooting re-started but his leg gave way and he lay in the mosque car park, bloodied and in pain, until police reached him.
Mustafa, aged 21, who came to New Zealand from Turkey with his family 10 years ago, was among the last of the injured to be taken to hospital after the atrocity of 15 March.
As he waited, police officers tended his wounds and kept him talking. “The police were looking after me, chatting to me and keeping me awake,” he says.
“They were telling me that I was doing a good job, to stay awake and be patient. They covered my wound with a big bandage – they were really supportive.
“It was really painful but there were others who were worse injured, so it was OK.”
The support continued after he reached hospital, with Constable Maysie Palmer appointed to act as liaison for Mustafa and his family.
Mustafa, who moved to Christchurch a few weeks ago to study engineering, is still in hospital. The bullet which hit his leg travelled up and damaged his liver, and a bullet fragment is lodged near a rib.
He was released temporarily from hospital to attend the memorial events in Hagley Park where, he says, even the armed police on duty were supportive and welcoming, posing for photos with him.
Mustafa says his leg injury means he is still unable to stand but that mentally he feels well. “The faith we have keeps us strong,” he says. “It’s amazing really.”
Maysie, a tactical options trainer at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC), volunteered to go to Christchurch as soon as the scale of the need became apparent and was assigned to a family liaison team.
She says it was an honour to work with Mustafa – who she describes as “very energetic, positive and humorous” despite his ordeal – as well as other victims of the shooting and their families.
“I introduced myself and let him know what my role was, which was to put support in place from the other agencies – ACC, Victim Support, WINZ and the others who were being brought in,” she says.
“Then it was just a matter of staying in contact while I was based at Christchurch Hospital. I also had the pleasure of meeting his mother, who was absolutely wonderful.”
She is now back in her usual role at the RNZPC. She handed her liaison duties with Mustafa to her Police colleague Sarah Persico when she left.
Maysie says she wasn’t sure family liaison work would be her cup of tea, but came away from her five-day stint – which included being given a flower by the visiting Prince Hassan of Jordan - feeling it had been an honour and pleasure.
A rose from a prince.
“I stepped away feeling it was an absolute honour for us to be that point of contact for them, to be a positive and supportive light following that horrific situation, just looking to support them any way we could.”
Maysie has been in Police for eight years, serving mainly in Waikato District, and briefly in Counties Manukau, and transferred to the RNZPC in February. She was also deployed to Christchurch after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Two teams of 21 staff have been acting as liaison for families since the attacks, one team working with families of deceased victims, the other with injured victims.
Inspector Wendy Robilliard, Family Liaison Commander in Christchurch, says their role is to act as a conduit between families, police operations and the agencies which will provide long-term support.
It requires a strong victim focus, a high degree of empathy and often – as in this case - the competence to relate to other cultures.
“The family liaison teams have done an amazing job and all of the families they have worked with are grateful for their work and the support they have received,” says Wendy.