Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah (born ) is an Afghan-born New Zealand man who was lauded as a hero for his actions during the Christchurch mosque shootings on 15 March 2019. He confronted the terrorist Brenton Tarrant outside the Linwood Islamic Centre, chasing him away and potentially saving lives. For his bravery, he was awarded the New Zealand Cross in 2021.
Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah was born in in Afghanistan. He left the country with his parents as a refugee when he was a child, and subsequently lived in Australia for 27 years. In March 2019 he and his family had lived in Christchurch for two years, where he owned a second-hand furniture store. He has four sons.
On 15 March 2019, Aziz was inside the Linwood Islamic Centre with about 80 other worshippers, including his children, when he heard gunshots. Initially thinking it was fireworks, he realised it was an attack when he saw a man in tactical gear carrying a rifle.
Without a weapon, Aziz grabbed a handheld credit card machine and ran outside, shouting "Come here!" to distract the terrorist. The gunman, Brenton Tarrant, turned and fired at him. Aziz took cover behind cars as bullets flew past. He then noticed that the shooter's rifle had jammed.
Seizing the moment, Aziz picked up the empty rifle and threw it like a spear at Tarrant, hitting him. The attacker ran to his car. Aziz chased him, picked up the discarded rifle again, and damaged the rear window of the vehicle with it as Tarrant sped away.
Tarrant was arrested by police shortly after the attack; Aziz was hailed as a hero for his bravery.
During Tarrant's sentencing in August 2020, Aziz confronted him directly in court. He told the terrorist that he should thank God or Allah that Aziz did not catch him, and concluded: "Never forget these two eyes you ran from".
In the 2021 New Zealand bravery awards, Aziz was awarded the New Zealand Cross, the country's highest civilian honour for bravery. His investiture by the governor-general, Cindy Kiro, took place at a ceremony at Christchurch Town Hall on 5 July 2022.
The last paragraph of the citation for the NZ Cross read:
In 2023, Aziz was part of the official New Zealand delegation that attended the coronation of King Charles in London.