AUCKLAND, New Zealand: A coronial inquiry into the tragic 2019 mosque killings in New Zealand commenced Tuesday, providing an opportunity for the families of the 51 victims to seek answers and potentially uncover ways to prevent such devastating incidents in the future.
On March 15, 2019, a white supremacist, Brenton Tarrant, carried out a deadly attack by shooting and killing 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch. This act of violence remains the deadliest modern-day mass shooting in New Zealand’s history.
Deputy chief coroner Brigitte Windley initiated the inquiry in Christchurch, expressing its purpose as “looking at what we may learn from this atrocity and speaking on behalf of those who lost their lives in an effort to protect the living.”
Maha Galal, the spokesperson for the “15 March Whanau Trust,” which represents some of the victims’ relatives, stressed the urgent need for answers. “Our paramount concern is to comprehend the truth,” Galal said, adding that the families of the victims are united in their pursuit of understanding, seeking clarity on whether their loved ones could have survived. This quest for truth is deemed essential for healing and closure.
The opening session of the inquest featured a poignant video paying tribute to each of the 51 victims from their grieving families.
The inquiry will comprehensively examine all events from the beginning of the attack to Brenton Tarrant’s formal police interview, including the response times of the police and emergency services. One key inquiry revolves around why the victims were left at the mosque without immediate action for some time, and why the police did not allow anyone to retrieve them.
Additional questions for the coroner include whether anyone assisted Tarrant, whether a different medical response could have saved lives, and whether an emergency exit door at one of the mosques failed to open on the day of the attack.
The tragic killings carried out by Tarrant shocked New Zealand and garnered global condemnation. Tarrant, who admitted to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder, and one of terrorism, received a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole in August 2020. In his sentencing, Judge Cameron Mander described Tarrant’s ideology as “warped” and driven by “base hatred,” leading him to murder defenseless individuals, including men, women, and children.
Tarrant had live-streamed the attacks on social media and published an online manifesto prior to the events, which prompted swift actions from then-prime minister Jacinda Ardern, including tightening gun laws and pressuring social media platforms to curb online extremism.
The families of the victims hope that this inquest will provide them with closure and help identify ways to prevent such tragic attacks in the future. They aim to learn from the events of March 15, 2019, in preparation for any potential future tragedies, which they fervently hope will not occur.
