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Main suspect in New Zealand terror attack charged with murder/ PM confirms children among victims

SHAFAQNA- The Australian main suspect accused of killings of 49 people in terror attack at two mosques in New Zealand on Friday has appeared in a Christchurch District Court on Saturday on a murder charge.

Brenton Tarrant, 28,was remanded without a plea until his next appearance in the South Island city’s High Court on April 5.

Handcuffed, shoeless, and wearing a white prison suit, Tarrant did not speak. His court-appointed lawyer made no application for bail or name suppression.

He flashed an upside-down “okay” signal, a symbol used by white power groups across the globe.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas, reporting from Christchurch, said the suspect locked eyes intensely with journalists.

“He came into court, he didn’t say anything at all. He stood there looking directly at the media in the courtroom and was smirking throughout his appearance,” Thomas reported.

Judge Paul Kellar allowed photos to be taken but ordered that the face of the former fitness instructor be blurred to preserve fair-trial rights.

Two other suspects were taken into custody while police tried to determine what role, if any, they played in the cold-blooded attack that stunned New Zealand.

None of those arrested had a criminal history or was on any watchlist in New Zealand or Australia, Aljazeera reported.

PM Jacinda Ardern said Mr Tarrant had a firearms licence and owned five guns, adding “Our gun laws will change.”

Ms Ardern said the guns used by the attacker appeared to have been modified, and that the suspect’s car was full of weapons, suggesting “his intention to continue with his attack”.

Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, she said the suspect had obtained a gun licence in November 2017 that allowed him to buy the weapons used in the attack, BBC reported.

Children are among the 49 killed in yesterday’s terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said.

The main suspect intended to continue his attack and had modified weapons but was arrested by two community police officers, she said. There were two other firearms were in his vehicle and he was arrested 36 minutes after the first emergency call.

He is facing one count of murder but there will be further charges.

Ardern said the investigation was ongoing but authorities believed there was only “one primary perpetrator”, The Guardian told.

Thirty-nine people are in hospital, 11 are in intensive care, ranging from children to the elderly.

With 49 people killed in the mosque attacks, it was by far the deadliest shooting in modern New Zealand history. Funerals were planned on Saturday for some of the victims.

 

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