New Zealand mosque shooting toll rises to 50
CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON — The death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings rose to 50 on Sunday after police found another victim at one of the mosques, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said bodies of those killed would begin to be released to families for burial.
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.
Friday’s attack, which Ms. Ardern labelled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country had 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” denouncing immigrants as “invaders” was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the body of the 50th victim was found at the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 people died after a gunman entered and shot at people with a semi-automatic rifle with highcapacity magazines, before travelling to a second mosque.
Majority of victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia and Afghanistan.
“I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change,” Ms. Ardern told reporters on Saturday, saying a ban on semiautomatic weapons would be considered.
New Zealand has in the past tried to tighten firearm laws, but a strong gun lobby and culture of hunting has stymied such efforts.
There are an estimated 1.5 million firearms in New Zealand, which has a population of only 5 million, but it has had low levels of gun violence. —