The mother of a Christchurch mosque attack victim died of a heart attack hours after her son’s funeral.
Kamel Darwish, 38, was tragically killed when a gunman opened fire at Masjid Al Noor during Jumah on Friday 15 March, killing 50 people.
His funeral was held last Friday and the morning after his mother, Saud Abdelfattah Mhaisen Adwan, 65, also died.
Whilst an official from the Jordanian Embassy based in Sydney said Saud suffered a heart attack, some have said the mother passed away from a “broken heart”.
Family friend Yaser Mohammad told the New Zealand Herald: “She passed away because she couldn’t put up with the sorrow and sadness of losing her son.
“They are arranging to take the coffin back to Jordan.”
Her son Kamel moved from Jordan to New Zealand around six months ago to join his older brother Zuhair, while his wife Rana and children, aged 2, 6 and 8, had applied for visas to join him.
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The Stuff news site reported that Saud apparently suffered from a pre-existing heart condition and was too upset to attend her son’s funeral.
Instead she went to went to bed with stomach pains but was found dead by family the next morning.
But her nephew Adwan, 33, said he believed the gunman was responsible for the death of both Kamel and mother Saud.
He said: “She just didn’t wake up. We feel like the main reason for her death is sadness.
“It’s extremely sad. She was a very lovely, easy going person.”
