An Australian white supremacist accused of gunning down 51 worshippers final 12 months at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand has pleaded responsible to all fees, police mentioned Thursday.
On the Excessive Court docket in Christchurch, Brenton Tarrant admitted to 51 fees of homicide, 40 fees of tried homicide and one cost of participating in a terrorist act, Police Commissioner Mike Bush mentioned in an announcement.
The 29-year-old had beforehand denied the costs and was as a result of go on trial in June.
He confirmed no emotion as he appeared through video hyperlink within the courtroom round 10 a.m. native time Thursday (2100GMT Wednesday), in line with Radio New Zealand.
The gun assaults on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre throughout Friday prayers on March 15, 2019 despatched shockwaves all over the world.
Two imams of the mosques have been current within the courtroom as representatives of the victims.
“While the sentencing hearing is still pending, today’s guilty pleas are a significant milestone in respect of one of our darkest days,” mentioned the police assertion.
The assertion additionally talked about that sentencing won’t happen till it’s potential for all victims who want to attend the listening to to take action.
“Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, that will not be possible for some time. The defendant has therefore been further remanded in custody until 1 May 2020, at which time the position will be reviewed and either a sentencing date will be set or there will be a further remand in custody,” it added.
