- Three suspects were apprehended in the case of the New Zealand mosque shooting on Friday.
- The suspected gunman appeared in court Saturday morning and was identified as 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, an Australian national. Official images of Tarrant's face taken during his appearance were pixelated due to a court order.
- A Twitter account that appeared to belong to Tarrant posted an anti-immigrant manifesto outlining the attack one day before the shooting took place.
Police in New Zealand have arrested three suspects over the fatal shooting of at least 49 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch.
Here is what we know about them:
- One is a 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, an Australian man, who has been charged with murder. He appeared in court on Saturday.
- Two others have been arrested. Police say they were both found with firearms near the scene of the shootings.
- One suspect appears to have video recorded the entire massacre with some form of body or helmet camera.
- None of the suspects were known to police or security forces beforehand.
- A manifesto claiming responsibility was published on Tarrant's Twitter account.
- Police arrested a fourth person, but later said the arrest was "not related" to the shootings.
Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year old Australian man, appeared in a Christchurch courtroom Saturday morning on a murder charge, in the wake of a deadly massacre that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured.
Official images of Tarrant's face taken during his appearance were pixelated due to a court order.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters at a press conference Saturday morning that the gunman was Australian-born, but most recently lived in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Ardern said he used five guns he obtained legally with a gun license, including two semiautomatic weapons, two shotguns, and one lever-action firearm.
She said he was never on the radar of either New Zealand or Australian intelligence agencies, and that authorities will investigate to determine whether there had been any social-media activity that should have "triggered a response" sooner.
"We are seeking answers," Ardern said, adding that New Zealand will enact stricter gun-control laws in the wake of the shooting, though she declined to name specific reforms she would pursue.
An anti-immigrant manifesto claiming responsibility was posted on Tarrant's Twitter account ahead of the attack, the commissioner said.
Tarrant's Twitter account has now been suspended. So has his Facebook page. But in the 74-page document, the author said the attack was meant to "create an atmosphere of fear" and "incite violence" against Muslims, The Guardian reported.
Tarrant's former manager, Tracey Gray, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he once worked as a personal trainer at the Big River Gym in the Australian city of Grafton. She said Tarrant has travelled throughout Europe, Southeast Asia and East Asia, including to North Korea.
"I honestly can't believe that somebody I have probably had daily dealings with and had shared conversations and interacted with would be capable of something to this extreme," she told ABC.
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