Sunday, 19 May 2024

New Zealand shooter used 5 guns in mosque massacre

The Muslim-hating New Zealand mosque shooter carried out the heinous attack using five guns that were obtained legally, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a day after the massacre.

Australian-born Brenton Tarrant, 28, who has been charged with murder in the Friday afternoon terror attack that left 49 worshippers dead, used two semi-automatic weapons, two shotguns and one lever-action firearm during the massacres at two mosques in Christchurch, according to Ardern.

Ardern did not identify Tarrant by name, but said that the shooter had obtained a gun license in November 2017 and started purchasing the weapons used a month later.

“This individual has traveled around the world with sporadic periods of time spent in New Zealand,” Ardern said. “They were not a resident of Christchurch.”

Tarrant, along with two other people who were arrested in connection to the attack, were not on any type of terror watch list and had no criminal history, according to Ardern.

Ardern said the investigation is ongoing to establish how the other two individuals who were arrested were involved in the attack.

The prime minister vowed for gun reform in the country in the wake of the attack.

“While work has been done as to the chain of events that led to both the holding of this gun license and the possession of these weapons, I can tell you one thing right now – our gun laws will change,” Ardern said during the press conference.

She added: “There have been attempts to change our laws in 2005, in 2012 and after an inquiry in 2017…now is the time for change.”

According to Ardern, 41 people were killed at one mosque, seven were killed at the second mosque and one person died in the hospital.

More than 40 people were injured, including two who remain in critical condition. A 4-year-old was among the wounded.

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