New Zealand to try man charged in mosque attack

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The prime minister said Sunday that the man charged in the Christchurch mosque shootings, an Australian citizen, will be tried in New Zealand.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said 28-year-old Brenton Harrison Tarrant will face more charges, but she did not say whether terrorism charges are being considered. She said she was seeking advice on whether Tarrant might be extradited to Australia, but that his murder trial will be in New Zealand.

Ardern said one person had been taken into custody based on evidence collected during the investigation, but there was no evidence he was linked to Friday's attack on two mosques.

Ardern also said at the afternoon news conference that her government will discuss New Zealand’s gun laws at a meeting Monday, and there will be changes.

She also said she will look into reports of a surge in gun sales in the country since the attack.

The shooting has vaulted New Zealand into what could be a divisive political battle over gun control. An extraordinary number of residents own weapons, with few restrictions.

Authorities say the man charged in the assault used five guns he had acquired legally, including two semi-automatic assault weapons.

The organizers of New Zealand's largest gun show, the Kumeu Militaria Show near Auckland, said they have canceled Saturday's event to show respect for the victims and because of "elevated security risks."

Also on Sunday, relatives of victims were still waiting for authorities to release the bodies. Islamic law calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours.

Ardern said authorities hoped to release all the bodies by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Facebook said in a late Saturday tweet that in the 24 hours after the attack, it removed 1.5 million videos of what the shooter live-streamed. It's a chilling snapshot of how quickly provocative — and often disturbing — images circulate on the internet.

Facebook says it prevented 1.2 million of the videos from being uploaded to its social network. But that implies that 300,000 versions of the video were available to watch for at least short periods.