Christchurch shooting: Gunman had plans to target another mosque

The gunman who killed 51 people at Christchurch in New Zealand in 2019 had intended to attack the third mosque as well.

According to details, Brenton Tarrant’s sentencing hearing was heard in which it was found that Brenton Tarrant intended to burn down the mosques as he wanted to “inflict as many fatalities as possible”.

International news agency revealed that the Australian has pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 attempted, and one charge of terrorism.

Tarrant is likely to face life imprisonment without parole.

The sentencing hearing was heard on Monday Morning in Christchurch.

Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes informed the court that the gunman had begun formulating a plan years earlier, and his ambition was to “inflict as many fatalities as possible”.

He had collected information about mosques in New Zealand. He had monitored location and other details. He aimed to target them at a busy time.

He had also flown a drone over the Al Noor Mosque.

In addition to this, he also aimed to attack the Ashburton Mosque after the Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.

It should be remembered that 51 Muslims were killed in an attack on 15 March 2019 allegedly by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant at the Masjid An-Nur mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center.