Christchurch mosque shooter faces terrorism charge
CNNCNN — The man accused of killing 51 worshipers at two Christchurch mosques has been charged by New Zealand police with engaging in a “terrorist act,” the first time such a charge has been laid inside the country. Australian citizen Brenton Tarrant, 28, faces an additional 51 charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder for the March attack which was New Zealand’s worst mass shooting in modern history, New Zealand police said in a statement Tuesday. Tarrant, who allegedly wrote an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim manifesto, also faces one charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, the first time anyone has been prosecuted under the act, a police spokesperson confirmed to CNN. Andrew Geddis, a law professor at New Zealand’s Otago University, said that if Tarrant was convicted, the additional terrorism charge wouldn’t result in a heavier punishment.