New Zealand mosque shooter arrives for sentencing

The suspected white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers last year, a massacre that prompted a global campaign to stamp out online hate, arrived in Christchurch on Sunday ahead of sentencing hearings.

Brenton Tarrant disembarked a New Zealand air force plane at Christchurch Airport on Sunday afternoon, wearing a protective vest and helmet and escorted by armed officers, before being directed into the back of a white van, television footage showed. He has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.

Tarrant was transported to Christchurch, the city where the shootings occurred, from Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, the New Zealand Herald reported. A court in Christchurch will begin multi-day sentencing hearings on Monday, where survivors of the attack and family members of those killed will deliver victim impact statements.

[nL4N2FL0AF] Tarrant, an Australian, will be sentenced after being allowed to make a statement. Murder convictions carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge can impose a life term without the possibility of release, a sentence that has never been used in New Zealand.

A police spokeswoman declined to comment on Tarrant’s movements, referring Reuters to the country’s Department of Corrections. A spokeswoman there declined to comment, citing “the interests of public safety and operational security”.