Christchurch attack touches Microsoft community

The terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday has touched the country's Microsoft community.

Among the fifty killed while at  mosques in the city were Syed Jahandad Ali and Atta Elayyan, both Microsoft technology professionals.

Syed Ali was a Microsoft Dynamics developer at Intergen, a New Zealand-based Microsoft partner. In a statement on LinkedIn, Intergen CEO Simon Bright wrote:

I am very sad to share with you that our highly respected and much loved colleague Syed Ali has lost his life in the terrorist attack which took place on Friday at Masjid Al Noor, a Mosque on Deans Avenue in Christchurch. My deepest sympathies and thoughts are with Syed’s family, his wife Amna and their children, his friends and co-workers.

I’m finding it hard to comprehend why anyone would want to take this kind of action and I stand with the rest of our nation and the world in expressing my sadness and repulsion at such a senseless act.

A fundraising campaign has been started on behalf of Syed's family by Intergen.

Atta Elayyan was an entrepreneur and developer and a Microsoft MVP. New Zealand's IT Brief news site noted that Elayyan was known for his work on mobile apps. He was also a national-level futsal player. A ...