New Zealand: Christchurch shooter, Brenton Tarrant, officially charged with murder

As the world grieves the horrific terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, police reported that the killer, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, has been charged with the first count of murder.

Brenton Tarrant

Tarrant, 28, has been charged in Christchurch District Court and, obviously, more charges will be filed later in the attacks that left at least 49 people dead, police said on Twitter.

Tarrant said nothing and showed no expression when he appeared in court Saturday morning wearing a jump suit. During his brief appearance Tarrant was handcuffed and accompanied by three officers armed with tasers. He’s scheduled to be back in court April 5.

A video of the Friday attack on Islamic worshipers and a 16,000-word manifesto filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment were posted online to his account.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Tarrant was “not willing to be arrested.”

Bush said: “Again, I think you’d probably seen some of that video, there was live audio coming back to my command center in Wellington of that apprehension and I can tell you, as I was listening to that, the person was non-compliant.”

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the gunman intended to continue his attack if he hadn’t been stopped. “There were two other firearms in the vehicle that the offender was in and it absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack,” she told reporters.

Tarrant will face life in prison as the nation does not have a death penalty.

Many of the victims hailed from around the world. Ardern said some were from Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia. At least two Jordanian citizens were killed and five others wounded in the shootings, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.

A five-year-old girl was critically wounded and had surgery but remained in serious condition, her uncle, Sabri al-Daraghmeh, told Jordan’s al-Mamlaka TV.