Small Wars Journal

Volley of Bullets and Then Screams: New Zealand Seeks Answers After Massacre

Sat, 03/16/2019 - 12:13am

Volley of Bullets and Then Screams: New Zealand Seeks Answers After Massacre by Rhiannon Hoyle, Rachel Pannett, Adrien Taylor and Rob Taylor – Wall Street Journal

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand—This tiny island nation was left reeling after a gunman wearing military fatigues and wielding five weapons stormed into two mosques and killed 49 people on Friday, in the worst massacre in New Zealand’s history.

 

Police charged a 28-year-old Australian suspect, Brenton Tarrant, with murder. Authorities arrested two other suspects, as they try to determine whether they were involved in the massacre.

 

A lengthy manifesto posted under Mr. Tarrant’s name on Facebook around the time of the attacks claimed responsibility, expressing white-supremacist views and describing the author as a working-class Australian. The terror spree was captured in graphic video footage posted online by the shooter that has since been removed.

 

“While the nation grapples with a form of grief and anger that we have not experienced before, we are seeking answers,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday. She said New Zealand would review its gun laws…

Read on.