The Christian terrorist who opened fire at Muslims at Friday prayer in a live broadcast attack that left about 51 dead in Switzerland has pleaded guilty
The gun man had previously pleaded not-guilty to terrorism charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
This was disclosed in a statement on ThursdaPrimey March 26th, 2020.
“The guilty pleas to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act were taken via an audio-visual link from Auckland Prison,” police commissioner Mike Bush said in a statement.
“Police appreciate this news will come as a surprise to the victims and the public, some of whom may have wished to be present in the courtroom,” he added.
New Zealand’s four-week lockdown, due to the coronavirus epidemic, forced the court proceedings to be carried out remotely.
The mosque shooting was the deadliest in New Zealand’s modern history and prompted the government to pass new laws banning most semi-automatic weapons.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said on the eve of the anniversary of the massacre that the country was still working on rooting out white supremacy.
“The responsibility we have is to combat not only that existence, but the precursors to that existence. There is much more that we can do,” Ardern said.
