Australian charged with murder after New Zealand mosque shootings

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, a suspected white
supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday after 49 persons
were killed and dozens wounded in mass shootings at two New Zealand
mosques.

Tarrant, handcuffed and wearing a white prison suit, stood
silently in the Christchurch District Court where he was remanded
without a plea.

He is due back in court on April 5 and police said he was likely
to face further charges.

Friday’s attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda 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.

Tarrant has been described as a suspected white supremacist,
based on his social media activity.

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.
(Reuters)