Christchurch mosque shootings
The Christchurch mosque shootings were two consecutive mass shootings on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019. They were committed by Brenton Tarrant who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, firstly at the Al Noor Mosque at 1:40 p.m. and later at the Linwood Islamic Centre at 1:52 p.m.
| Christchurch mosque shootings | |
|---|---|
The Al Noor Mosque in August 2019 | |
Al Noor Mosque Linwood Islamic Centre Christchurch | |
| Location | Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Coordinates |
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| Date | 15 March 2019 1:40 – 1:59 p.m. (NZDT; UTC+13) |
| Target | Muslim worshippers |
Attack type | Mass shooting, terrorist attack, shooting spree, mass murder, right-wing terrorism, hate crime |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 51 |
| Injured | 40 |
| Perpetrator | Brenton Harrison Tarrant |
| Motive |
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| Verdict | Pleaded guilty to all charges |
| Convictions | 51 counts of murder 40 counts of attempted murder One count of committing a terrorist act |
| Sentence | 52 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 480 years |
Tarrant was arrested after his vehicle was rammed by a police unit as he was driving to a third mosque in Ashburton. He live-streamed the first shooting on Facebook, marking the first successfully live-streamed far-right terror attack, and had published an online manifesto before the attack. On 26 March 2020, he pled guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders, and engaging in a terrorist act, and in August was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole – the first such sentence in New Zealand.
The attack was linked to an increase in white supremacy and alt-right extremism globally observed since about 2015. Politicians and world leaders condemned it, and then-Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern described it as "one of New Zealand's darkest days". The government established a royal commission into its security agencies in the wake of the shootings, which were the deadliest in modern New Zealand history and the worst ever committed by an Australian national. The commission submitted its report to the government on 26 November 2020, the details of which were made public on 7 December.
The shooting has inspired copycat attacks, especially due to its live-streamed nature. In response to this incident, the United Nations designated March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.