Transcript
The attacks in Christchurch have drawn condemnation from leaders across the Pacific.
Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said they were the "darkest of evils".
The President of French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch called them despicable, adding that Polynesian values will help everyone overcome the tragedy.
In a statement, the Cook Islands Prime Minister, Henry Puna, says Cook Islanders saw church as a place of safety.
"To see so many innocent lives taken so callously and cruelly in this place of sanctuary is totally unacceptable."
Since the brutal killings on Friday, tributes have flowed on the streets of Port Morseby, Noumea and other Pacific cities.
But they hit especially hard in Fiji, after three people originially from the country were among the dead.
A Suva vigil on Saturday was attended by the Prime Minister and another is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Suva-based Pacific Conference of Churches, says people are in shock.
"For us in Fiji, we would never expect something like this to ever happen in New Zealand. It's a place that many Fiji islanders see as a second home."
Among New Zealand's sizeable Pacific population, community leaders say the Christchurch attacks highlight systemic discrimination in the country.
Melino Maka from New Zealand's Tongan Advisory Council says although it's awful, what happened wasn't entirely a surprise to Pacific communities.
"You experience some degree of racism toward us and when you look across to what happened to our Muslim brothers and sisters, it didn't surprise us."
The attacks struck during the Pacific festival season in New Zealand and led to an early closure of the world's biggest Polynesian dance festival held in Auckland.
On Saturday, Polyfest shuttered its third and biggest day out of safety concerns and in a show of solidarity.
St Paul's College had a Samoan dance troupe in the competition and its deputy head boy AJ Tuipe'a says their thoughts are with the victims.
"Despite Polyfest being cancelled, even throughout our six long weeks of hard work, nothing will compare to the pain and the agony that I can imagine that's going down."
It's been confirmed that another major festival for New Zealand's Pacific community, Pasifika, will go ahead in Auckland this weekend.
