Death toll in New Zealand mosque shootings rises to 50
New Zealand's police commissioner Mike Bush says the death toll from Friday's mosque shootings has risen to 50. New Zealand's stricken residents are reaching out to Muslims in their neighbourhoods and around the country with a fierce determination to show kindness to a community in pain as a 28-year-old stood silently before a judge, accused in mass shootings at two mosques that left 49 people dead, and the identities of some of the victims started to emerge Saturday.
Brenton Harrison Tarrant appeared in court amid strict security, shackled and wearing all-white prison garb, and showed no emotion when the judge read him one murder charge. The judge said "it was reasonable to assume" more such charges would follow. Tarrant, who posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online and apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter in the city of Christchurch, appeared to make a hand sign, similar to an OK sign, that is sometimes associated with white nationalists.
The judge allowed Tarrant's photo to be taken, but ordered that his face be blurred to "preserve any fair trial rights," the New Zealand Herald reported. The Herald reported he smirked as his photo was taken.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the massacre during Friday prayers is "one of New Zealand's darkest days" and the accused, an Australian native, had chosen to strike in New Zealand "because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion."
On Saturday, people in New Zealand reflected Ardern's sentiments, offering rides to the grocery store or volunteering to walk with their Muslim neighbours if they felt unsafe.
In online forums, people discussed Muslim food restrictions as they prepared to drop off meals for those affected. "Love always wins over hate. Lots of love for our Muslim brothers," read a handwritten card on a wall of flowers in a historic part of the city that stretched a full block. Still, Muslims were advised to stay away from mosques while the nation's security alert remained at the second highest level a day after the deadliest shooting in modern New Zealand history. Ardern said 39 survivors remained hospitalized Saturday, with 11 critically wounded. But updates were slow to come, and many families were still waiting to hear whether their loved ones were among the victims.
The gunman had posted a jumbled, 74-page manifesto on social media in which he identified himself as an Australian and white supremacist who was out to avenge attacks in Europe perpetrated by Muslims.
He livestreamed 17 minutes of the rampage at the Al-Noor mosque, where, armed with at least two assault rifles and a shotgun, he sprayed worshippers with bullets, killing at least 41 people. More people were killed in an attack on a second mosque a short time later.
Facebook, Twitter and Google scrambled to take down the gunman's video, which was widely available on social media for hours after the bloodbath.
The second attack took place at the Linwood mosque about five kilometres away.
The video showed the killer was carrying a shotgun and two fully automatic military assault rifles, with an extra magazine taped to one of the weapons so that he could reload quickly. He also had more assault weapons in the trunk of his car, along with what appeared to be explosives.
Two other armed suspects were taken into custody Friday while police tried to determine what role, if any, they played in the cold-blooded attack that stunned New Zealand, a country so peaceful that police officers rarely carry guns.
Tarrant's relatives in the Australian town of Grafton, in New South Wales, contacted police after learning of the shooting and were helping with the investigation, local authorities said. Tarrant has spent little time in Australia in the past four years and only had minor traffic infractions on his record. Mike Bush, New Zealand's police commissioner, said Tarrant was involved in both shootings but stopped short of saying he was the sole gunman.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-zealand-mosque-shootings-1.5059401