Sonny Bill Williams has shared an emotional video of support for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

The All Blacks and Blues rugby player is a Muslim and said, through tears in a video on social media that he was struggling to comprehend what had happened.

My heart is hurting about the news coming out of Christchurch. Sending love & prayers to the effected families❤️? pic.twitter.com/7PX9wc56b8

— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) March 15, 2019

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All Blacks and Crusaders captain Kieran Read shared on his Instagram story about 4.30pm he had been stuck inside a school hall waiting for his daughters, Elle and Eden, to be released from lockdown.

Williams and Read were among a host of Kiwi sportspeople to send their love and support to Christchurch, including Williams’ younger sister and New Zealand sevens player Niall Williams, Hurricanes loose forward Ardie Savea, Chiefs midfielder Anton Liernert-Brown and Highlanders pair Waisake Naholo and Aaron Smith.