CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was charged with murder on March 16, after 50 people were killed and dozens wounded in mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques.
Tarrant, handcuffed and wearing a white prison suit, stood silently in the Christchurch District Court where he was remanded without a plea. He is due back in court on April 5 and police said he is likely to face further charges.
Friday’s attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labeled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country had raised its security threat level to the highest.
The death toll rose to 50 after investigators found another victim as they removed bodies from the crime scenes, the country’s police commissioner said on Sunday.
Footage of the attack on one of the mosques was broadcast live on Facebook, and a “manifesto” denouncing immigrants as “invaders” was sent to politicians and media outlets and posted online via links to related social media accounts.
The video showed a man driving to the Al Noor mosque, entering it, and shooting randomly at people with a semi-automatic rifle. Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay on the floor, the video showed.
At one stage the shooter returns to his car, changes weapons, re-enters the mosque, and again begins shooting. The camera attached to his head recording the massacre follows the barrel of his weapon, like some macabre video game.
Police said the suspect took seven minutes to travel to the second mosque in the suburb of Linwood. No images have emerged from there.
Tarrant was arrested in a car, which police said was carrying improvised explosive devices, 36 minutes after they were first called.
“The offender was mobile, there were two other firearms in the vehicle that the offender was in, and it absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack,” Ardern told reporters in Christchurch on Saturday.
Ardern’s office said the suspect sent the “manifesto” by email to a generic address for the prime minister, the opposition leader, the speaker of the parliament, and around 70 media outlets just minutes before the attack.
A spokesman said the email did not describe the specific incident and that there was “nothing in the content or timing that would have been able to prevent the attack.”
The staff member monitoring the accounts sent it to parliamentary services as soon as they saw it, who sent it to police, the spokesman said.
The visiting Bangladesh cricket team was arriving for prayers at one of the mosques when the shooting started but all members were safe, a team coach told Reuters.
Two other people were in custody and police said they were seeking to understand whether they were involved in any way.
None of those arrested had a criminal history or were on watchlists in New Zealand or Australia.
Sorrow, Sympathy
Twelve operating theaters worked through the night on the more than 40 people wounded, said hospital authorities. Thirty-six people were still being treated on Saturday, 11 of whom remained in intensive care. One victim died in a hospital.“Many of the people require multiple trips to the theater to deal with the complex series of injuries they have,” said Christchurch Hospital’s Chief of Surgery Greg Robertson.
One victim posted a Facebook video from his hospital bed, asking for prayers for himself, his son and daughter.
“Hi guys how are you. I am very sorry to miss your calls and text messages...I am really tired...please pray for my son, me and my daughter...I am just posting this video to show you that I am fully ok,” said Wasseim Alsati, who was reportedly shot three times.
Dozens of people laid flowers at cordons near both mosques in Christchurch, which is still rebuilding after an earthquake in 2011 killed almost 200 people.
Wearing a black scarf, Ardern hugged members of the Muslim community at a Christchurch refugee center, saying she would ensure freedom of religion in New Zealand.
“I convey the message of love and support on behalf of New Zealand to all of you,” she said.
The majority of victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand’s population.
“I’m not sure how to deal with this. Forgiving is going to take time,” Omar Nabi, whose father Haji Daoud Nabi was gunned down, told reporters outside the Christchurch court. Nabi’s family left Kabul, Afghanistan, for New Zealand in the 1970s.
None of the bodies of the victims were immediately released due to the investigation.
World Condemnation
Leaders around the world expressed sorrow and disgust at the attacks.President Donald Trump condemned the attack as a “horrible massacre.”
On Saturday, the White House said Vice President Mike Pence spoke with New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on Friday to express condolences for “the despicable terror attacks.”
Pence also affirmed U.S. cooperation in ensuring all the perpetrators were brought to justice. “These acts of hate have no place in the diverse and tolerant society for which New Zealand is justly known,” the White House statement said.
Friends Read Free