Man accused of Christchurch mosque attacks changes plea to guilty

By MiNDFOOD

A man places flowers at a memorial site for victims of the mosque shootings at the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su
A man places flowers at a memorial site for victims of the mosque shootings at the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su
The man accused of the Christchurch mosque attacks has pleaded guilty to all charges.

Appearing via audio-visual link at Christchurch’s high court on Thursday morning, Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 murder charges, 40 attempted murder charges, and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act laid under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

He was convicted and remanded in custody until 1 May.

Until today he had denied all of the charges, pleading not guilty to 92 charges in June last year.

With his guilty plea he has become New Zealand’s first convicted terrorist.

Fifty-one people were killed and 49 injured at two Christchurch mosques when the 29-year-old Australian opened fire during Friday prayer on 15 March, 2019.

The act of terrorism led to an overhaul of New Zealand’s gun laws, and a push for reform to eliminate violent extremist content online.

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