Christchurch, March 19 (RHC)-- The white supremacist who killed 50 people in a mosque shooting in New Zealand sent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern his 74-page diatribe against foreign “invaders” just before launching an attack on innocent worshippers.
The so-called manifesto was e-mailed nine minutes before the attacks, but it was not enough to stop the attacks, according to Ardern. "It did not include a location. It did not include specific details ... If we could have [stopped it], we absolutely would have," she told reporters in Christchurch.
The killings, termed as “terrorism” by the prime minister, is the worst peacetime mass killing in the country. Another body was found at the Al Noor mosque over the weekend, raising the death toll to 50.
Ardern said that “the fact that there was an ideological manifesto with extreme views attached to this attack, of course, that is deeply disturbing,” adding: “He will certainly face the justice system of New Zealand.”
Brenton Tarrant, the 28-year-old who carried out the attack on two mosques directly praised U.S. President Donald Trump. In his manifesto, Tarrant raised up Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose," while also praising Anders Breivik, the Norwegian white supremacist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Tarrant has been charged with murder and the police said he is likely to face further charges on April 5th, the day he is due back in court.