A man from Surrey, B.C., is mourning the loss of his former classmate who was killed in a gun massacre at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday.
Shaukat Khan said when he heard news of the attack, he sent a message to his friend, Naeem Rashid, reading: "Hope all is well with you and your family. Just heard about the news. Let me know."
"He would simply smile at us whenever we tried to bother him or tease him. Everyone had respect for him like they would have for an elder." "His life was all about that," Khan said, adding that Rashid and his son, Talha Naeem, gave their lives trying to snatch the attacker's gun. "So whatever he did is nothing astonishing for us because it runs in the family, runs in his blood, runs in his genes."As the shootings unfolded, the 50-year-old Rashid is seen on video trying to tackle the gunman, Rashid's brother, Khurshid Alam, told The Associated Press.
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