Death toll of New Zealand mosque shooting rises to 50
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E-mail China Daily, March 17, 2019
What we know so far
• Several gunmen opened fire at two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday afternoon, leaving 50 people dead.
• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the attack as one of her country's "darkest days"
• An Australian citizen in his late 20s appeared in court Saturday, charged with murder
• Two others were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the shootings
• Suspect reportedly uses modified semi-automatic weapons
• Arden said the nation’s gun laws will change
• Major social media remove shooting video of terror attacks
The death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings rose to 50 on Sunday after police said they found another body at one of the mosques, while authorities worked to formally identify victims and release their bodies to families.
Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face further charges.
Friday's attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labeled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country had raised its security threat level to the highest.
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.
The bodies of the victims had not yet been released to families because investigations were ongoing, but police were working as quickly as they could to do that, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said at a media conference in Wellington.
It is customary in Islam to bury the dead within the 24 hours.
"We have to be absolutely clear on cause of death and confirm their identity before that can happen. But we are so aware of the cultural and religious needs, so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible," Bush said.
Bush said the body of the 50th victim was found at the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 people died after a gunman entered and shot randomly at people with a semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines, before travelling to a second mosque.
"As of last night we were able to take all of the victims from both of those scenes. In doing so we were able to locate a further victim," he said.
Thirty-six people were still in Christchurch Hospital, with 11 being treated in intensive care, and one child moved to dedicated children's hospital in Auckland.
At a roadblock outside the Al Noor mosque on Sunday, about 40 people were standing in silence near scores of bunches of flowers. Police with gloves and metal detectors combed the street and footpath.
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