New Zealand shooter intended to burn mosques, prosecutor says

A white supremacist who pleaded guilty to the 2019 mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques intended to burn them down as well, prosecutors said Monday.

The gunman, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a single count of terrorism. He stands to become the first person to receive New Zealand’s maximum sentence of life without possibility of parole, The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors delivered the first detailed summary of the shooting in a 26-page outline Monday. In addition to revealing the planned arson, prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said Tarrant had flown a drone over the Al Noor mosque two months before the attack. Tarrant also timed the shooting for Friday prayers when the maximum number of worshippers would be present, Hawes added.

In addition to the six guns he brought to the shooting, Tarrant had four modified gas containers he intended to use to burn the buildings, the prosecutor said.

Victims and their family members were able to confront Tarrant for the first time as the four-day sentencing hearing began Monday, the AP noted.

Maysoon Salama, whose son Atta Elayyan was killed in the shooting, told Tarrant he had “killed [his] own humanity,” adding, “I don’t think the world will forgive you for your horrible crime.”

The courtroom was only half-full due to coronavirus restrictions, with several people watching a livestream of events from adjacent rooms, according to the AP. Dozens of victims and relatives recounted their experiences to the court.

Their tones, and the sentences they said Tarrant deserved, varied widely. While one person said he deserved the death penalty, Janna Ezat, whose son Hussein Al-Umari was killed, told Tarrant she forgave him.

“The damage is done, Hussein will never be here,” she said. “I only have one choice and that is to forgive.”