Christchurch Shooting: New Zealand shooter smirks in courtroom

Twentyeightyearold Brenton Tarrant who is the main suspect in the massacre of 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch showed no remorse as he appeared in a court here on Saturday and smirked as the judge read a single murder charge against himThe rightwing extremist who filmed himself during the Friday rampage appeared before the Christchurch district court in a white prison jumpsuit handcuffed and barefoot Flanked by two police officers he smirked when media photographed him and was seen making a white supremacist sign with his hands The New Zealand Herald reportedA 2016 image of Tarrant taken in Turkey Officials said he travelled to the country multiple timesThe Australian stood silently during the brief hearing as he was charged with one count of murder He was remanded in custody without plea and is due to appear in court on April 5 Judge Paul Kellar allowed photos to be taken but ordered that the face of the former fitness instructor be blurred to preserve fairtrial rightsTwo other people were in custody over the incident None of those detained had a criminal recordWith 49 people killed in the mosque attacks it was by far the deadliest shooting in modern New Zealand history Speaking at a news conference on Saturday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the suspects car was full of weapons suggesting his intention to continue with his attackHe had obtained a gun licence in November 2017 that allowed him to buy the weapons used in the attack Ardern said that the guns appeared to have been modified The mere fact that this individual had acquired weapons of that range then obviously I think people will be seeking change and Im committing to that she saidShe said the proposed reforms which will be the focus of a Cabinet meeting on Monday will also focus on the ease with which legal weapons can be modified to become militarystyle assault rifles which are more strictly controlledGunman sent manifesto to PM before attackThe New Zealand Prime Ministers Office said on Saturday that it received a copy of a manifesto from the alleged gunman less than 10 minutes before the attacks began at the two Christchurch mosques on Friday along with about 70 other recipients Other politicians on the mailing list included National leader Simon Bridges and Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard It does not set out what he was about to do It was written as if it had occurred to explain what obviously was about to play out an official saidRural cops brought down accused NZ PMJacinda Ardern hailed the bravery of a pair of rural New Zealand police officers who arrested the suspected Christchurch gunman 36 minutes after authorities were alerted Ardern said the alleged attacker 28yearold Australian Brenton Tarrant would surely have killed even more people than the 49 worshippers he massacred in two mosques were it not for the policemen The offender was mobile there were two other firearms in the vehicle that the offender was in and it absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack he told reportersSemiautomatic weapons face banNew Zealand will ban semiautomatic rifles AttorneyGeneral David Parker said on Saturday and was greeted loudly by a crowd on vigil after the horrific killing of 49 people in Christchurch shootings Parker was meeting a vigil group at the Aucklands Aotea SquareCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates