(Bloomberg) -- New Zealanders stopped on Friday to honor victims of the Christchurch mass shooting that has profoundly shocked the usually peaceful nation.

A week after a gunman attacked two mosques in the South Island city, leaving 50 dead and more than 40 wounded, the Muslim call to prayer was broadcast nationally on state-owned television and radio, followed by a two-minute silence. Planning is underway for a national memorial service, which will be held next week.

Thousands gathered outside mosques around the country to show solidarity with worshippers as they arrived to pray. In capital city Wellington, bustling cafes and streets came to a standstill at 1:32 p.m. local time as people observed the two-minute silence. Some women wore headscarves to show support for the Muslim community, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has done and been widely praised for in the aftermath of the worst massacre in New Zealand’s modern history.

“New Zealand mourns with you,” said Ardern, who was among those who congregated in a park opposite the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, the scene of the first attack. “We are one.”

Addressing the crowd, Imam Gamal Fouda thanked people for their support, saying the overwhelming show of solidarity demonstrated that New Zealand was “unbreakable.”

"We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken,” he said in an address punctuated by loud applause. “We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us.”

On March 15, a man wielding modified semi-automatics opened fire in a Christchurch mosque during afternoon prayers, killing more than 40 people as he filmed and live-streamed the attack to social media. He then drove to a second mosque and continued the rampage. A 28-year-old Australian was arrested and charged with murder.

The government yesterday banned military style semi-automatics and assault rifles and said it will establish a nationwide buyback of the weapons, with further changes to gun laws to be made in coming months.

(Updates with observation of two-minute silence.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Brockett in Wellington at mbrockett1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew Brockett at mbrockett1@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.