Australian police have identified the gunman behind the horrific shootings at two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand today. He is Brenton Tarrant, an Australian citizen, said to be a right wing extremist.
He even live-streamed the attack for 17 minutes on social media.Twitter has shut down a user account in that name.
Forty died and 20 injured after the attack on the two mosques, according to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
She said it was a well planned terror attack.
Ardern said 10 people were killed at Linwood and 30 at the Deans Ave mosque near Hagley Park. She said it was an “unprecedented” situation and described it as a terrorist attack.
The gunman has been arrested, along with three others, including a woman.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the shooting as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”. The police said they have taken four people in custody after the incident.
The mosques were packed with worshippers gathering for Friday afternoon prayers, and members of the Bangladesh cricket team were arriving when the shooter opened fire.
