In what is being called as "one of New Zealand's darkest days," mass shootings at two mosques in NZ full of worshippers attending Friday prayers killed about 40 people. The terror attack had been live-streamed on Facebook and uploaded onto social media sites where it was widely shared before being taken down. The attacks seem to be a carefully planned and the authorities detained four people and defused explosive devices that are said to have belonged to the attackers.

The lethal attack occurred at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch at about 1:45 pm (local time) that reportedly over 40 people have been killed after shooters opened fire in two mosques in the city in a coordinated series of terrorist attacks. There was a second shooting at the Linwood Masjid Mosque, about two miles east of the Deans Avenue building, that PM Ardern said, killed 10 people. They were planning to attack a third mosque in the town of Ashburton if they could make it there, as per reports.

However, what comes across as a bizarre part of the horrible act was that in the Facebook live-stream of the shooting, one of the gunmen says: "Remember, lads, subscribe to PewDiePie." The reference was made to the popular Swedish YouTuber who goes by his social media name PewDiePie however his real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg. New Zealand Terror Attack: 40 Dead In Christchurch Mosque Shootings, Says NZ PM Jacinda Ardern.

PewDiePie took on to Twitter to respond at the whole incident and wrote: "Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy."

PewDiePie's response tweet to the terror attack at New Zealand's church:

The man who claimed responsibility for the shooting said: "he came to New Zealand only to plan and train for the attack." He said he was not a member of any organisation, but had donated to and interacted with many nationalist groups, though he acted alone and no group ordered the attack.

Watch: New Zealand Mosque Shootings: 49 Dead, Several Injured in Christchurch Terror Attack:

He said the mosques in Christchurch and Linwood would be the targets, as would a third mosque in the town of Ashburton if he could make it there, as per reports by PTI. He chose New Zealand because of its location, to show that even the most remote parts of the world were not free of "mass immigration," the report states further.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2019 01:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).