On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque in the suburb of Riccarton at 1:40 pm and continued at the Linwood Islamic Center at 1:52 pm. 51 people were killed and 40 others were injured.
The gunman, 28-year-old Brenton Harrison Tarrant from
Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, was arrested after his vehicle was rammed
by a police unit as he was driving to a third mosque in Ashburton. He was
described in media reports as a white supremacist. He had live-streamed the
first shooting on Facebook, and prior to the attack, had published an online
manifesto; both the video and manifesto were subsequently banned in New Zealand
and Australia. On 26 March 2020, he pleaded guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted
murders, and engaging in a terrorist act and in August was sentenced to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole – the first such sentence in New
Zealand.
The attack was linked to an increase in white supremacy and
alt-right extremism globally observed since about 2015. Politicians and world
leaders condemned it, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described it as "one of New Zealand's darkest
days". The government established a royal commission into its security
agencies in the wake of the shootings, which were the deadliest in modern New
Zealand history and the worst ever committed by an Australian national. The
commission submitted its report to the government on 26 November 2020, the
details of which were made public on 7 December.
Background
New Zealand has been considered a safe and tolerant place
with low levels of gun violence and was named the second-most peaceful country
in the world by Global Peace Index in 2019, the year of the attacks. This
attack was the first mass shooting in the country since the Raurimu massacre in
1997; prior to that, the deadliest public mass shooting was the 1990 Aramoana
massacre, in which 13 people died. While New Zealand has rarely been associated
with far-right extremism, experts have suggested it has been growing there.
Sociologist Paul Spoonley called Christchurch a hotbed for white supremacists
and the extreme nationalist movement, a suggestion rejected by
Christchurch-based MP Gerry Brownlee. Australia, where the gunman, Brenton
Tarrant, was from, has also seen an increase in xenophobia, racism, and
Islamophobia.
In the 2018 census, some 57,000 New Zealand residents (1.2%
of the population) reported their religion as Islam. The Al Noor Mosque, the
first mosque in the South Island, opened in June 1985. The Linwood Islamic
Centre opened in early 2018.
Events
Al Noor Mosque
On 15 March 2019, at 1:40 pm, Tarrant entered the Al Noor
Mosque in Riccarton and began shooting. Approximately 190 people, mostly men,
were attending Friday prayer at the time.
Tarrant live-streamed for 17 minutes (before and during the
first shooting, and between the two shootings) on Facebook Live, starting with
the drive to the Al Noor mosque and ending as he drove away. Just before the
shooting, he played several songs, including "Remove Kebab", a Serb nationalist and anti-Muslim song;
and "The British Grenadiers", a
traditional British military marching song. During the shooting, he continued
to play "military music"
from a portable speaker attached to a tactical vest he was wearing.
As Tarrant approached the mosque, a worshipper greeted him
with "Hello, brother".
Tarrant fired a Mossberg 930 semiautomatic shotgun nine times towards the front
entrance from outside, killing the worshipper. He then dropped the shotgun and
opened fire on people inside with an AR-15 style rifle, killing three other men
near the entrance and dozens more inside a prayer hall; a strobe light attached
to one of his weapons disoriented victims. Another worshipper charged at
Tarrant but was shot and fatally wounded. This worshipper, Naeem Rashid, was
posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Shujaat and the New Zealand Cross, the
highest awards of bravery in Pakistan and New Zealand respectively.
Tarrant fired at worshippers in the prayer hall from close
range, shooting many multiple times. He then went outside, where he killed
another man and retrieved another weapon from his car, before going to the
mosque's car park and shooting several people there. He reentered the mosque
and fired on already-wounded people in the prayer hall, then again went
outside, where he killed a woman. He drove off about five minutes after
arriving at the mosque, firing at people and cars through the windscreen and
closed window of his own car. He said, on the livestream, that he had planned
to set the mosque on fire; four modified petrol containers were later found in
his car.
Police arrived just as Tarrant was leaving, but his car was
hidden by a bus, and at the time, no description of the vehicle had been
provided. He drove eastwards on Bealey Avenue at speeds up to 130 km/h (81
mph), weaving between lanes against oncoming traffic and driving onto a grass
median strip. At 1:51 pm, just after the livestream had ended, he aimed a
shotgun at the driver of a vehicle on Avonside Drive and attempted to fire it
twice, but it failed to fire on both occasions. The GoPro device attached to
Tarrant's helmet continued recording until he was apprehended by police eight
minutes later.
Linwood Islamic
Centre
At 1:52 pm, Tarrant arrived at the Linwood Islamic Centre, 5
kilometers (3 mi) east of the Al Noor Mosque, where about 100 people were
inside. He parked his vehicle on the mosque's driveway, preventing other cars
from entering or leaving. According to a witness, Tarrant was initially unable
to find the mosque's main door, instead shooting people outside and through a
window, killing four and alerting those inside.
A worshipper named Abdul Aziz Wahabzada ran outside and, as
Tarrant was retrieving another gun from his car, Aziz threw a payment terminal
at him. Tarrant fired back at Aziz, who picked up an empty shotgun Tarrant had
dropped. He took cover among nearby cars, and attempted to draw Tarrant's
attention by shouting, "I'm
here!" Regardless, Tarrant entered the mosque, where he shot and
killed three people. When Tarrant returned to his car, Aziz threw the shotgun
at it. Tarrant drove away at 1:55 pm. Aziz was awarded the New Zealand Cross,
New Zealand's highest award for bravery. In May 2023, he represented recipients
of the Cross at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
Tarrant's arrest
A silver 2005 Subaru Outback matching the description of
Tarrant's vehicle was seen by a police unit, and a pursuit was initiated at
1:57 pm. Two police officers rammed his car with their vehicle, and Tarrant was
arrested on Brougham Street in Sydenham at 1:59 pm, 18 minutes after the first
emergency call. Tarrant later admitted that when he was arrested, he was on his
way to attack a mosque in Ashburton, 90 km (56 mi) southwest of Christchurch.
Victims
Pakistan 9
India 7
Bangladesh 5
Egypt 4
United Arab Emirates 3
Fiji 3
Somalia 2
Syria 2
Indonesia 1
Jordan 1
Kuwait 1
New Zealand 1
Saudi Arabia 1
Unknown/not stated 12
Fifty-one people died from the attacks, either at the scene
or shortly afterwards: 44 at the Al Noor Mosque and seven at the Linwood
Islamic Centre. Almost all were male. Their ages ranged from three to 77 years
old. Thirty-five others were injured at the Al Noor Mosque and five at Linwood.
Perpetrator
Brenton Harrison Tarrant
Born October 27,
1990 (age 32)
Nationality Australian
Brenton Harrison Tarrant (born 27 October 1990), a white
Australian man, was 28 years old at the time of the shootings. He grew up in
Grafton, New South Wales, where he attended Grafton High School. After
Tarrant's parents separated when he was young, his mother's subsequent
boyfriend abused her and the children. He worked as a personal trainer in his hometown
from 2009 to 2011, quitting after an injury; in that time, he inherited
A$457,000 from his father, who committed suicide in 2010. In 2015, he took a
trip to Ukraine and came into contact with extreme right-wing groups.
At the time of the shootings, Tarrant had been living in
Andersons Bay in Dunedin since 2017. He was a member of a South Otago gun club,
where he practiced shooting at its range. A neighbor described him as a
friendly loner. In 2018, Tarrant was treated for eye and thigh injuries at Dunedin
Hospital; he told doctors he had sustained the injuries while trying to
dislodge an improperly chambered bullet from a gun. The doctors also treated
him for steroid abuse, but never reported Tarrant's visit to the authorities,
which would have resulted in police reassessing his fitness to hold a gun license.
Travels and racist
views
Tarrant began expressing racist ideas from a young age. From
2012 onward, he visited a number of countries in Asia and Europe, using the
money he inherited from his father. He always travelled alone, with the
exception of a trip to North Korea. Police in Bulgaria and Turkey investigated
Tarrant's visits to their countries. Security officials suspected that he had
come into contact with far-right organisations about two years before the
shooting, while visiting European nations. He donated €1,500 to Identitäre
Bewegung Österreich (IBÖ), the Austrian branch of Generation Identity (part of
the Identitarian movement) in Europe, as well as €2,200 to Génération
Identitaire, the French branch of the group, and interacted with IBÖ leader
Martin Sellner via email between January 2018 and July 2018, offering to meet
in Vienna and a linking to his YouTube channel. During the planning stages of
his attack he made a donation of $106.68 to Rebel Media, a site that featured
both Sellner and several articles espousing "white
genocide" and "Great
Replacement" conspiracy theories.
Captivated with sites of battles between Christian European
nations and the Ottoman Empire, Tarrant went on another series of visits to the
Balkans from 2016 to 2018, with Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Turkey,
and Bosnia-Herzegovina confirming his presence there in these years. He posted
Balkan nationalist material on social media platforms and called for the United
States to be weakened in order to prevent what he perceived as NATO
intervention in support of Muslims (Albanians) against Christians (Serbs). He
said he was against intervention by NATO because he saw the Serbian military as
"Christian Europeans attempting to
remove these Islamic occupiers from Europe". By June 2016, relatives
noted a change in Tarrant's personality, which he claimed was the result of a
mugging incident in Ethiopia, and his mother had expressed concern for his
mental health.
In 2016, three years prior to the attacks, Tarrant praised
Blair Cottrell as a leader of the far-right movements in Australia and made
more than 30 comments on the now-deleted "United
Patriots Front" and "True
Blue Crew" webpages. An Australian Broadcasting Corporation team who
studied the comments called them "fragments
and digital impressions of a well-traveled young man who frequented hate-filled
anonymous messaging boards and was deeply engaged in a global alt-right
culture." A Melbourne man said that in 2016, he filed a police
complaint after Tarrant allegedly told him in an online conversation, "I hope one day you meet the
rope". He said that the police told him to block Tarrant and did not
take a statement from him. The police said that they were unable to locate a
complaint.
After his arrest, Tarrant told investigators that he
frequented right-wing discussion boards on 4chan and 8chan and also found
YouTube to be "a significant source
of information and inspiration."
Weapons
Police recovered six guns: two AR-15 style rifles (one
manufactured by Windham Weaponry and the other by Ruger), two 12-gauge shotguns
(a semiautomatic Mossberg 930 and a pump-action Ranger 870), and two other
rifles (a .357 Magnum Uberti lever-action rifle, and a .223-caliber Mossberg Predator
bolt-action rifle). They were all purchased between December 2017 and March
2019, along with more than 7,000 rounds of ammunition. Tarrant held a firearms license
with an "A" endorsement,
and he started buying his arsenal a month after acquiring his license.
According to a city gun store, Tarrant bought four firearms and ammunition
online. The shop said none of the four were military-style weapons, and it is
not known if these guns were the ones used in the attacks. The shop did not
detect anything unusual or extraordinary about the customer. Additionally, he
illegally replaced the semi-automatic rifles' small, legal magazines with
30-round magazines purchased online, and the triggers of some of the firearms
were modified so he could fire them more quickly.
According to Stuff, Tarrant was wrongly granted a firearms license
due to police failures. Sources said that police failed to interview a family
member as required for obtaining a firearms license, instead interviewing two
men that Tarrant had met through an online chatroom. In the days after the
attacks, the police had quashed concerns that Tarrant had obtained the weapons
inappropriately. Police have not given comment to this allegation, saying they
do not wish to interfere with the ongoing inquiry into the event at the time.
The guns and magazines used were covered in white writing
naming historical events, people, and motifs related to historical conflicts,
wars, and battles between Muslims and European Christians; as well as the names
of recent Islamic terrorist attack victims and the names of far-right attackers
such as Alexandre Bissonnette, Darren Osbourne and Luca Traini. The markings
also included references to "Turkofagos"
(Greek: Τουρκοφάγος, lit. 'Turk-eater';
this was the nickname of the revolutionary Nikitas Stamatelopoulos during his
battles in the Greek War of Independence), and white supremacist slogans such
as the anti-Muslim phrase "Remove
Kebab" that originated from Serbia and the Fourteen Words. The
Archangel Michael's Cross of the Romanian fascist organization Iron Guard was
among the symbols on the firearm. Apart from the Latin alphabet, writings on
the weaponry were in the Cyrillic, Armenian and Georgian alphabets. The
writings were names dedicated to historic individuals that fought against
Muslim forces. On his pack was a Black Sun patch, a symbol commonly used by the
Azov Regiment, and two dog tags: one with a Celtic cross, and one with a Slavic
swastika design; all of these symbols are popular in far-right counter-culture.
Police also found two improvised explosive devices attached
to a car; these were defused by the New Zealand Defence Force. No explosives
were found on the gunman.
Manifesto
Tarrant claims to be the author of a 74-page manifesto
titled The Great Replacement, a reference to the "Great Replacement" and "white genocide" conspiracy theories. It said that the
attacks were planned two years prior, and the location was selected three
months prior. Minutes before the attacks began, the manifesto was emailed to
more than 30 recipients, including the prime minister's office and several
media outlets, and links were shared on Twitter and 8chan. Seven minutes after
Tarrant sent the email containing the manifesto to parliament, it was forwarded
to the parliament security team, who instantly called the police communication
centre at 1:40 pm, around the same time the first 111 calls were made from the
Al Noor Mosque.
In the manifesto, several anti-immigrant sentiments are
expressed, including hate speech against migrants, white supremacist rhetoric,
and calls for all non-European immigrants in Europe whom he claimed to be "invading his land" to be
removed. The manifesto displays neo-Nazi symbols such as the Black Sun and the
Odin's cross. The author denies being a Nazi, describing himself instead as an "ethno-nationalist", an "eco-fascist", and a "kebab removalist", in
reference to a meme exalting the genocide of Bosnian Muslims that occurred
during the Bosnian War. The author cites Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring
Breivik, Dylann Roof and others as an inspiration. The author said that he
agrees with British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley and that the
People's Republic of China was the nation closest to his ideology. Despite
claiming to launch this attack in the name of diversity, he called for the
expulsion of people he deemed to be "invaders"
from Europe including but not limited to Roma, Africans, Indians, Turks and
Semitic peoples. The author says he originally targeted the Al Huda Mosque in
Dunedin but changed his mind after visiting Christchurch, because the mosques
there contained "more adults and a
prior history of extremism". In 2014 and 2015, local press had
reported an allegation that a congregation member had been radicalized at the
mosque. Additionally, the shooter also called for the killing of German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and London
Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The manifesto was described by some media outlets as "sh*tposting"—trolling
designed to engender conflict between certain groups and people. Readers of the
manifesto described it as containing deliberately provocative and absurd
statements, such as sarcastically claiming to have been turned into a killer by
playing violent video games. On 23 March 2019, the manifesto was deemed "objectionable" by the Chief
Censor of New Zealand, making it unlawful to possess or distribute it in New
Zealand. Exemptions to the ban were available for journalists, researchers, and
academics. In August 2019, The New Zealand Herald reported that printed copies
of the manifesto were being sold online outside New Zealand, something New Zealand
law could not prevent.
Genocide scholar A. Dirk Moses analyzed the manifesto,
concluding that "Tarrant's words
yield insights into the subjectivity of genocidaires more generally, namely
that they commit terrorist acts with genocidal intent as – in their own mind –
preventative self-defense; not as acts of aggression but, as he writes, 'a
partisan action against an occupying force'". According to Moses, it
was hypocritical for Tarrant to complain about supposed "white genocide" from immigration without recognizing
that he himself comes from a settler colony that resulted from genocide against
Indigenous Australians.
In the manifesto, Tarrant said he hoped mass shootings would
cause conflict over gun control in the United States, and potentially lead to
civil war.
An arm of the Ukrainian Azov movement subsequently
disseminated the manifesto both online and in print.
Preparation
Tarrant's travels on
8–9 January 2019
Tarrant is thought to have become obsessed with terrorist
attacks committed by Islamic extremists in 2016 and 2017, started planning an
attack about two years prior to the shootings, and chosen his targets three
months in advance. Some survivors at the Al Noor Mosque believed they had seen
Tarrant there on several Fridays before the attack, pretending to pray and
asking about the mosque's schedules. The Royal Commission report found no
evidence of this, and police instead believe that Tarrant had viewed an online
tour of Al-Noor as part of his planning.
On 8 January 2019, Tarrant used a drone operated from a
nearby park to investigate the mosque's grounds. Additionally, he used the
Internet to find detailed mosque plans, interior pictures, and prayer schedules
to figure out when mosques would be at their busiest levels. On the same day,
he had driven past the Linwood Islamic Center.
Legal proceedings
Arraignment
Tarrant appeared in the Christchurch District Court on 16
March, where he was charged with one count of murder. The judge ordered the
courtroom closed to the public except for accredited media and allowed the
accused to be filmed and photographed on the condition that Tarrant's face is
pixelated. In court, Tarrant smiled at reporters and made an inverted OK gesture
below his waist, said to be a "white
power" sign.
The case was transferred to the High Court, and Tarrant was
remanded in custody as his lawyer did not seek bail. He was subsequently
transferred to the country's only maximum-security unit at Auckland Prison. He
lodged a formal complaint regarding his prison conditions, on the grounds that
he has no access to newspapers, television, Internet, visitors, or phone calls.
On 4 April, police announced they had increased the total number of charges to
89, 50 for murder and 39 for attempted murder, with other charges still under
consideration. At the next hearing on 5 April, Tarrant was ordered by the judge
to undergo a psychiatric assessment of his mental fitness to stand trial.
On 20 May, a new charge of engaging in a terrorist act was
laid against Tarrant under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. One murder
charge and one attempted murder charge were also added, bringing the total to
51 and 40, respectively.
Initial plea and
pre-trial detention
On 14 June 2019, Tarrant appeared at the Christchurch High
Court via audio-visual link from Auckland Prison. Through his lawyer, he
pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in a terrorist act, 51 counts of
murder, and 40 counts of attempted murder. Mental health assessments had
indicated no issues regarding his fitness to plead or stand trial. The trial
was originally set to begin on 4 May 2020, but it was later pushed back to 2
June 2020 to avoid coinciding with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
During his time in prison, Tarrant was able to send seven
letters, one of which was subsequently posted on the Internet message boards
4chan and 8chan by a recipient. Minister of Corrections Kelvin Davis and the
Department of Corrections were criticized for allowing the distribution of
these letters. Prime Minister Ardern subsequently announced that the Government
would explore amending the Corrections Act 2004 to further restrict what mail
can be received and sent by prisoners.
Guilty plea and
sentencing arrangements
On 26 March 2020, Tarrant appeared at the Christchurch High
Court via audio-visual link from Auckland Prison. During the appearance, he
pleaded guilty to all 92 charges. Due to the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic
lockdown, the general public was barred from the hearing. Reporters and
representatives for the Al-Noor and Linwood mosques were present in the
courtroom. According to media reports, Tarrant's lawyers had informed the
courts that their client was considering changing his plea. On 25 March,
Tarrant issued his lawyers with formal written instructions confirming that he
wanted to change his pleas to guilty. In response, court authorities began
making arrangements for the case to be called as soon as possible in the midst
of the COVID-19 lockdown. The judge convicted Tarrant on all charges and
remanded him in custody to await sentencing. For sentencing, Tarrant had
dismissed his lawyers and represented himself during those proceedings.
On 10 July, the government announced that overseas-based
victims of the shootings would receive border exemptions and financial help in
order to fly to New Zealand for the sentencing. On 13 July, it was reported
that Tarrant had dismissed his lawyers and would be representing himself during
sentencing proceedings.
Sentencing
The Queen v Brenton
Harrison Tarrant: Sentencing remarks
Sentencing began on 24 August 2020 before Justice Cameron
Mander at the Christchurch High Court, and it was televised. Tarrant did not
oppose the sentence proposed and declined to address the court. The Crown prosecutors
demonstrated to the court how Tarrant had meticulously planned the two shootings
and more attacks, while numerous survivors and their relatives gave victim
impact statements, which were covered by national and international media.
Tarrant was then sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of
parole for each of the 51 murders, and life imprisonment for engaging in a
terrorist act and 40 attempted murders. The sentence is New Zealand's first
terrorism conviction. It was also the first time that life imprisonment without
parole, the maximum sentence available in New Zealand, had been imposed. Mander
said Tarrant's crimes were "so
wicked that even if you are detained until you die, it will not exhaust the
requirements of punishment and denunciation."
Following the sentencing, Deputy Prime Minister Winston
Peters called for Tarrant to serve his sentence in Australia in order to avoid
New Zealand having to pay the costs for his life imprisonment. The cost of
housing Tarrant in prison was estimated at NZ$4,930 per day, compared to an
average cost of $338 per sentenced prisoner per day. Peters's remarks were also
motivated by Australia's policy of deporting New Zealand citizens who had
committed crimes or breached character requirements. Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern said there is currently no legal basis for the proposal and that
respecting the wishes of his victims and their relatives would be paramount.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said Parliament would need to pass a law to
deport Tarrant to Australia. University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis
said it was "legally
impossible" to deport Tarrant to Australia to serve his sentence. On
28 August, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Australian Home Affairs
Minister Peter Dutton advised that, while no formal request had been made by
the New Zealand Government to repatriate Tarrant to Australia and for him to
serve his life sentence in an Australian correctional facility, the Australian
Government was open to considering a request.
Imprisonment
On 14 April 2021, Tarrant appealed against his prison
conditions and his designation as a "terrorist
entity" at the Auckland High Court. According to media reports, he is
being imprisoned at a special "prison
within a prison" known as a "Prisoners
of Extreme Risk Unit" with two other inmates. Eighteen guards have
been rostered to guard Tarrant, who is being housed in his own wing. On 24
April, Tarrant abandoned his appeal.
In early November 2021, Tarrant's new lawyer Tony Ellis
stated that his client intended to appeal against his sentence and conviction,
claiming that his guilty plea had been obtained under duress and that his
conditions while on remand breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
Mosque attack survivors have criticized Tarrant's appeal as a form of "grandstanding" and an attempt
by the terrorist to "re-traumatize" the Muslim community.
In early November 2022, Tarrant appealed against his
sentence and conviction at the Court of Appeal in Wellington. A Court of Appeal
spokeswoman confirmed Tarrant's appeal and that no hearing date had been set.
Mosque shooting survivors including Imam Gamal Fouda, Temel Atacocugu, and
Rahimi Ahmad described Tarrant's appeal as "re-traumatizing,"
insensitive and attention-seeking.
Aftermath
Governmental response
Police advised mosques to close temporarily, and sent
officers to secure and patrol various sites in Christchurch. All Air New
Zealand Link services departing from Christchurch Airport were cancelled as a
precaution, due to the absence of security screening at the regional terminal.
Security was increased at Parliament, and public tours of the buildings were cancelled.
In Dunedin, the Police Armed Offenders Squad searched a house, later reported
to have been rented by Tarrant, and cordoned off part of the surrounding street
in Andersons Bay because Tarrant had indicated on social media that he had
originally planned to target the Al Huda Mosque in that city.
For the first time in New Zealand history, the terrorism
threat level was raised to high. Prime Minister Ardern called the incident an "act of extreme and unprecedented
violence" on "one of New
Zealand's darkest days". She described it as a "well-planned" terrorist attack and said she would render
the person accused of the attacks "nameless"
while urging the public to speak the victims' names instead. Ardern
directed that flags on public buildings be flown at half-mast.
In May 2019, the NZ Transport Agency offered to replace any
vehicle number plates with the prefix "GUN"
on request.
In mid-October 2019, Ardern awarded bravery awards to the
two police officers who apprehended Tarrant at the annual Police Association
Conference in Wellington. Due to the legal proceedings against Tarrant at the
time, the two officers had interim name suppression, but in December 2019, this
was lifted.
On 1 September 2020, Prime Minister Ardern designated
Tarrant as a terrorist entity, thereby freezing his assets and making it a
criminal offence for anyone to support him financially.
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