New Zealand to release report on mosque shootings

Reuters | Wellington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

New Zealand will release on Tuesday an 800-page royal commission report looking into the killing of 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, who expressed white supremacist views and streamed the attack live, was this year sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for New Zealand’s worst mass shooting, according to Reuters.

Following is a timeline of the attack and the response:

March 15, 2019: A heavily armed gunman attacks two mosques in Christchurch killing 51 Muslim men, women and children and injuring many more who are gathered for Friday prayers. He was apprehended by police while on his way to a third mosque.

March 16, 2019: Australian national Brenton Tarrant is charged with one count of murder at a Christchurch court. He is remanded without a plea.

March 25, 2019: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern orders a royal commission, a major formal public inquiry, into the shooting. It will look at whether anything could have done to prevent this attack and at what should be done to prevent such attacks in the future.

April 5, 2019: Tarrant charged with 49 more counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder.

April 10, 2019: Lawmakers in New Zealand vote almost unanimously to change gun laws, banning some of the high-capacity semi-automatic weapons used by Tarrant in the attack.

May 21, 2019: New Zealand police charge Tarrant with terrorism, the first time such a charge has been brought in the country’s history.

June 14, 2019: Tarrant pleads not guilty to all 92 charges.

March 26, 2020: Tarrant switches his plea to guilty more than a year after the attack

April 22, 2020: Royal commission report deadline extended to July 31, allowing for delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deadline extended again on July 24, to November 26.

August 24, 2020: Trial begins at a Christchurch court, with many families of the victims seeing Tarrant in person for the first time.

August 27, 2020: Judge hands Tarrant a life sentence without parole, the first time a court in New Zealand has sentenced a person to prison for the rest of their life.

November 26, 2020: Royal commission hands its final report to Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy. The government says it will release it in parliament on December 8.