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Prince William's surprise visit to 5yo mosque attack victim

Author
NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Fri, 26 Apr 2019, 5:22AM

Prince William's surprise visit to 5yo mosque attack victim

Author
NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Fri, 26 Apr 2019, 5:22AM

Prince William paid a surprise visit to the 5-year-old girl who was shot in the Al Noor Mosque shooting last month.

The little girl, Alen Alsati, received critical injuries after she was shot multiple times in the attacks on March 15.

Earlier this month she woke from a coma and was unable to see, speak or eat by herself but in the weeks since has made small steps in recovery.

Today she was visited by Prince William and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Starship Hospital, with Alen quizzing the Prince about his family.

"Do you have a daughter?" she asked in a video released by Kensington Palace.

"Yes I do," said William. "She's called Charlotte - she's about the same age as you."

The Duke of Cambridge Prince William meets with Alen Alsati, her father Wasseim and family members. Photo / Kensington Palace
The Duke of Cambridge Prince William meets with Alen Alsati, her father Wasseim and family members. Photo / Kensington Palace

The Duke of Cambridge also attended the 11am Anzac Day commemoration service at Auckland's War Memorial Museum.

Following the service, he travelled down to Christchurch where he will tomorrow visit the Christchurch mosques and those impacted by the terror attacks.

Earlier this week, a Facebook post from Wass' Barbers which set up a Givealittle page for Alen said she was speaking again following the terror attacks.

"Alen is speaking! (Slowly) English and Arabic! Thank you for all your prayers," the Facebook post reads.

"Now we need to get body control and eyesight back."

The Givealittle page was set up to assist the family on their road to recovery and has reached over $59,000 in donations.

Alen's father Wasseim Alsati told the Weekend Herald earlier this month he "cried and cried" when he learnt his daughter suffered brain damage.

"My daughter doesn't recognise nobody yet. She can't speak, see, talk or eat by herself. She has a tube in her nose. She is not listening or communicating – it is heartbreaking," he said.

"We don't know how long she will be like that. It could be forever. We are very emotional and always crying".

The father-of-four, who was also shot numerous times, has had surgery to remove shrapnel and bone out of his hip socket and surgery for a perforated bowel and an injury to his pelvis.

When Alen Alsati woke from her coma earlier she was intially unable to speak, see, talk or eat by herself. Photo / Supplied
When Alen Alsati woke from her coma earlier she was intially unable to speak, see, talk or eat by herself. Photo / Supplied

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