Man charged with murder after New Zealand mosque shootings

By Charlotte Greenfield and Praveen Menon

 

Brenton Tarrant, charged for murder in relation to the mosque attacks, is lead into the dock for his appearance in the Christchurch District Court, New Zealand March 16, 2019. Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald/Pool via REUTERS.

 

CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - The main suspect in mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques was charged with one count of murder on Saturday, a day after the attack that killed 49 people and wounded dozens, prompting the prime minister to vow reform of the country's gun laws.

 

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year old Australian citizen, appeared in a Christchurch District Court and was remanded without a plea until his next scheduled appearance in the South Island city's High Court on April 5.

 

Handcuffed and wearing a white prison suit, Tarrant did not speak. His court-appointed lawyer made no application for bail or name suppression.

 

He was likely to face further charges, police said.

 

The attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labelled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country raised its security threat level to the highest.

 

Footage of the attack on one of the mosques was broadcast live on Facebook, and a "manifesto" was also posted online that denounced immigrants as "invaders".

 

The video footage showed a man driving to the mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.

Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the footage's authenticity and police urged people not to view or share it.

 

Police said two other people were in custody.

 

Armed police were deployed at several locations in all cities, unusual in a country where levels of gun violence are low.

 

Ardern said the main suspect was a licensed gun owner who used five weapons during his rampage, including two semi-automatic weapons and two shotguns.

 

"I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change," Ardern told reporters, saying a ban on semi-automatic weapons would be considered.

 

None of those arrested had a criminal history or was on any watchlist in New Zealand or Australia.

 

SORROW, SYMPATHY

 

There was a heavy police presence at the hospital where families of the more than 40 wounded had gathered. Funerals were planned on Saturday for some of the victims, several of whom were born overseas.

 

Dozens of people laid flowers at cordons near both mosques in Christchurch, which is still rebuilding after a devastating earthquake in 2011 that killed almost 200 people.

 

Leaders around the world expressed sorrow and disgust at the attacks, with some deploring the demonisation of Muslims. [nL3N212246]

 

U.S. President Donald Trump, who condemned the attack as a "horrible massacre", was praised by the accused gunman in a manifesto posted online as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose".

 

Asked by a reporter in Washington if he thought white nationalism is a rising threat around the world, Trump said: "I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. I guess if you look at what happened in New Zealand perhaps that’s a case, I don’t know enough about it yet."

 

Ardern, who flew to Christchurch on Saturday, said she had spoken to Trump, who had asked how he could help.

 

"My message was sympathy and love for all Muslim communities," she said she told him.

 

Political and Islamic leaders across Asia and the Middle East voiced concern over the targeting of Muslims.

 

"I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan posted on social media. "1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror."

 

'SHOOTING EVERYONE IN THE MOSQUE'

 

One man who said he was at the Al Noor mosque told media the gunman burst into the mosque as worshippers were kneeling for prayers.

 

"He had a big gun...He came and started shooting everyone in the mosque, everywhere," said the man, Ahmad Al-Mahmoud. He said he and others escaped by breaking through a glass door.

 

Facebook said it had deleted the gunman's accounts "shortly after the livestream commenced" after being alerted by police. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all said they had taken steps to remove copies of the videos. [nL3N2122V2] [nL8N2125MF]

 

Ardern said she had asked authorities to look into whether there was any activity on social media or elsewhere ahead of the attack that should have alerted them.

 

Forty-one people were killed at the Al Noor mosque, seven at a mosque in the Linwood neighbourhood and one died in hospital, police 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. [nL8N2120GG]

 

Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand's population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas.

 

A website set up for victims had raised more than NZ$1 million ($684,000) in less than a day, and social media was flooded with messages of shock, sympathy and solidarity.

 

One image shared widely was of a cartoon kiwi, the country's national bird, weeping. Another showed a pair of figures, one in a headscarf, embracing. "This is your home and you should have been safe here" the caption read.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-16

 

 

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

THIS is a proper response by a government in response to a mass shooting; try to enact new, better laws which might prevent atrocities like this from occurring again.

 

Anyone listening?

 

Anyone?

 

 

I hope that sob dies a long painfull lingering death and that’s ditto for the isis types here in the USA the cops need the leagle tools to take the guns away from the nut cases and proper background checks before buying

 

So many feel it's a God given right to possess whatever weapons they wish.

Edited March 16, 20197 yr by watcharacters

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

THIS is a proper response by a government in response to a mass shooting; try to enact new, better laws which might prevent atrocities like this from occurring again.

 

Anyone listening?

 

Anyone?

 

 

How’s that working out in Australia? Seen the news lately?

A heinous hate crime of all proportions. At least he wasn't paraded to the media and in court, the Thai way. Barefoot and with leg shackles.. But in this instance maybe he should have been.. 

Has anyone seen the comments sections on Facebook and on line news?

The response has been to say the least astonishing, a mass murder like this is abhorrent and some people are applauding it !.

What a sad World we live in.

58 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

How’s that working out in Australia? Seen the news lately?

Um, two decades of no mass murders? 

3 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

So many feel it's a God given right to possess whatever weapons they wish.

You can always tell a wannabe by the silly front grip on the AR and the cheap scopes.  But he has good taste, I see he was planning to wreak havoc on folks with his 1895 Nagant (second from right revolver), a collector piece that was obsolete in 1900. Fun to shoot though.

 

Nice start. At one time I had over 180.

Edited March 16, 20197 yr by Nyezhov

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

THIS is a proper response by a government in response to a mass shooting; try to enact new, better laws which might prevent atrocities like this from occurring again.

 

Anyone listening?

 

Anyone?

 

 

...agreed..if the PM has made that statement; why weren't the gun laws tightened as they were in Australia, post 1996 (Port Arthur Massacre).

Any PM/Premier/President/Leader must have a 'finger on the pulse' regarding world terrorism and be constantly adjusting/updating relevant laws accordingly...IMHO.

39 minutes ago, tandor said:

...agreed..if the PM has made that statement; why weren't the gun laws tightened as they were in Australia, post 1996 (Port Arthur Massacre).

Any PM/Premier/President/Leader must have a 'finger on the pulse' regarding world terrorism and be constantly adjusting/updating relevant laws accordingly...IMHO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Zealand

 

they were “tightened” in 1996, or rather, further tightened in 1996, as the un zud government had previously tightened gun laws following earlier mass shootings.

 

this latest horror, will see yet further tightening of the laws, in line with your last comment about constantly adjusting, which is demonstrably what the kiwis have been doing all along

Edited March 16, 20197 yr by farcanell

7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

 

 

50 people dead and this woman can think about is eliminating the rights of her own people. Sad, but utterly predictable. These people never change. 

29 minutes ago, usviphotography said:

50 people dead and this woman can think about is eliminating the rights of her own people. Sad, but utterly predictable. These people never change. 

I lived in NZ for a few years and travelled throughout the country. NZ police do not carry weapons in their day to day duties. There is no need whatsoever for NZ civilians to own semi automatic weapons, large capacity magazines and so on. This mass murder exceeded the number of murders in the last year in NZ (37). it is absolutely correct to ban such weapons for civilian use. Hopefully the NZ government will implement the same program as Oz for the hand in of existing banned guns when laws are enacted..

Edited March 16, 20197 yr by simple1

57 minutes ago, farcanell said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Zealand

 

they were “tightened” in 1996, or rather, further tightened in 1996, as the un zud government had previously tightened gun laws following earlier mass shootings.

 

this latest horror, will see yet further tightening of the laws, in line with your last comment about constantly adjusting, which is demonstrably what the kiwis have been doing all along

...well that's a reassuring read..thanks for that...let's hope other countries follow suit..after the PortArthurMassacre the federal govt had two amnesties and a gun buy back, however a fair per cent hid their already illegal weapons.

10 hours ago, PJPom said:

Has anyone seen the comments sections on Facebook and on line news?

The response has been to say the least astonishing, a mass murder like this is abhorrent and some people are applauding it !.

What a sad World we live in.

Terrorists and their supporters are scum, end of story , picking and choosing just makes one part of the problem.

4 hours ago, usviphotography said:

50 people dead and this woman can think about is eliminating the rights of her own people. Sad, but utterly predictable. These people never change. 

No sane person truly believes that owning an automatic weapon is a 'right '.

2 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

It does beg the question  of how on earth was this guy able to go for 17 minutes with no armed response? 

I doubt Muslims take guns to the mosque when they go to pray, I understand there were another 3 arrests, as we are now being told this was a lone gunman I am wondering whether the others arrests were people who may have armed themselves and gone after the gunman, and arrested as a precautionary measure until established they were not involved in the killings.

9 minutes ago, Basil B said:

I doubt Muslims take guns to the mosque when they go to pray, I understand there were another 3 arrests, as we are now being told this was a lone gunman I am wondering whether the others arrests were people who may have armed themselves and gone after the gunman, and arrested as a precautionary measure until established they were not involved in the killings.

 

I mean the police. 

4 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I mean the police. 

NZ police do not routinely carry firearms, so the nearest police probably were not armed, also I would assume that they would have armed themselves with riffles to take down this guy. 

 

Realistically how long does it take the police to respond from when they get the first emergency call? IMHO at least ten minute.

While on route it is likely that when multiple calls come through the police control center starts to get a picture of what is going, unarmed units are told to hold back until armed response arrives, then it is established he is on the move.

 

17 minutes seems good going.

 

 

 

56 minutes ago, Basil B said:

NZ police do not routinely carry firearms, so the nearest police probably were not armed, also I would assume that they would have armed themselves with riffles to take down this guy. 

 

Realistically how long does it take the police to respond from when they get the first emergency call? IMHO at least ten minute.

While on route it is likely that when multiple calls come through the police control center starts to get a picture of what is going, unarmed units are told to hold back until armed response arrives, then it is established he is on the move.

 

17 minutes seems good going.

 

 

 

Not for active shooter in the city center it isn't. All officers respond and drop whatever they are doing. Perhaps the police should carry firearms. It is sort of insane not to.

The shooter was already breaking the gun laws. It is illegal to have a 30 round clip in a semi-automatic gun in NZ.

Gun laws didn't stop him. Do you think a man intent on mass shooting will be compliant to gun laws?

56 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

The shooter was already breaking the gun laws. It is illegal to have a 30 round clip in a semi-automatic gun in NZ.

Gun laws didn't stop him. Do you think a man intent on mass shooting will be compliant to gun laws?

The NZ gun laws had loopholes you could drive a truck through. As probably designed by the gun lobbyists who have thwarted reform 3 times in past 30 years.

 

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-03-2019/how-nzs-lax-loophole-ridden-gun-laws-made-this-massacre-possible/

On 3/16/2019 at 8:13 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

THIS is a proper response by a government in response to a mass shooting; try to enact new, better laws which might prevent atrocities like this from occurring again.

 

Anyone listening?

 

Anyone?

 

 

 

She also said she needs to discuss this fully with the cabinet etc.

 

A measured intelligent response, from a relatively young leader, who looks more and more impressive.

 

Many many ought to be listening, and learning.

5 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

The shooter was already breaking the gun laws. It is illegal to have a 30 round clip in a semi-automatic gun in NZ.

Gun laws didn't stop him. Do you think a man intent on mass shooting will be compliant to gun laws?

 

If gun laws stopped extremist nutters from using them to commit atrocities:

 

- Drug laws would work too. And the PC liberals want to soften or scrap them!

- Laws against DUI would work. And yet so many accidents still are caused by alcohol.

- All laws against all crimes would be effective.

 

But the reality is criminals, terrorists and nutcases use weapons - guns, knives, cars, trucks, bombs etc and will continue to do so because they don't give a fig about laws.

 

But the left wing liberals don't like citizens having guns, or being able to defend themselves because it goes against their desire of state control and making people reliant on the state. It's just political to them.

Off topic trolling posts and the replies have been removed. 

 

Inflammatory posts and the replies have been removed.

On 3/16/2019 at 8:13 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

"...I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change..."

 

THIS is a proper response by a government in response to a mass shooting; try to enact new, better laws which might prevent atrocities like this from occurring again.

 

Anyone listening?

 

Anyone?

 

 

Yes I am Listening !!! ... Very Nice Call mate !!!

Just now, Mark mark said:

Yes I am Listening !!! ... Very Nice Call mate !!!

Just what I thought, and "Gee, isn't she a good Prime Minister" !!! ... (God, I wish we had some politicians of her Caliber and ability in Australia !!!) 

17 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Imagine all those countries where the citizens voted freely to sharply restrict access to guns. Little did they know that they had become slaves overnight. And they still persist in the delusion that that because they have the right to vote and speak their minds that is entirely irrelevant because they no longer can just waltz into a store and buy themselves a gun.

 

Blows my mind that people are so willing to give up the few rights they have due to the rare actions of a few. Speech. Self Defense. Press. 

 

Its the difference between alot of Americans and other first world countries. You guys have this inherent belief (regardless of the evidence to the contrary) that governments are for the good of society and can be trusted with your protection and knowing whats best for you. 

 

When you think like that you become sheep. 

I am totally saddened, as well as Disgusted by the Christchurch Massacre. And I might take a break from so called Social media now, ... Like "What a MAN" .... Disgusting. ...  I am glad that Thai Visa broached the subject,.... as though not in Thailand, … I would like all Humanity to consider this Cowardly, disgusting, but technically well executed act. ... Like this was one of OUR GUYS !!! ..... God Dam Him. ... !!!

Like this guy is obviously VERY good with Guns.
 
... I saw one of the early IS execution Videos, before it was Pulled also, ... their Business, ? ... Well it was disgusting the same .... I asked a so called American Friend, a so called  "Operative" (Contractors I think they call them now) what it was, like I had never even seen that Black Flag, with all of the Arabic writing on it before !!! .....  and he just said "Drug Traffickers' ... either he was way behind the curve, ….  or he was bull shitting, he was with the Gun Lobby after all, ....He is not my friend now. ...  It was IS. at their rise, ....... Really executing people, .... And now we have this Loonie !!! ..... And now, most defiantly “ONE OF OURS” …. Time to clean OUR ! HOUSE Up ? …