PM: New gun laws soon

CHRISTCHURCH: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday she will announce new gun laws within days, after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques here.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday.

Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face more charges.

“Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism, we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer,” Ardern said after her cabinet reached in principle decisions on gun reform laws in the wake of New Zealand’s worst ever mass shooting.

Gun City owner David Tipple said the alleged gunman legally bought four weapons and ammunition online from the store between December 2017 and March last year, but it did not sell him the high-powered weapon used in the massacre.

“The MSSA, military-style automatic, reportedly used by the alleged gunman, was not purchased from Gun City.

“Gun City did not sell him an MSSA, only A-category firearms,” Tipple said.

Under New Zealand gun laws, A-category weapons can be semiautomatic but limited to seven shots.

Live-streamed video of a gunman in one mosque showed a semi-automatic weapon with a large magazine round.

Tipple said he supported Ardern’s move to reform gun laws as the Christchurch shootings had raised concerns.

Ardern did not detail the new gun laws, but has said she supports a ban on automatic weapons.