KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – There are currently more than 450 wildfires burning across British Columbia.

According to the BC Wildfire Service, more than a dozen are considered wildfires of note, however the biggest one is currently the Snowy Mountain fire, located about 14 kilometres south of Karameos in the Okanagan-Similkameen region.

“That one is burning right now at about 10,900 hectares,” Fire Information Officer Kyla Fraser explains. “That one’s definitely one of our highest priority fires.”

It’s forced evacuations as well as evacuation alerts for many in the region.

“It did have some aggressive fire behaviour [Friday] night due to extreme winds.”

Fraser adds crews are continuing to work on this blaze with the help of aircraft.

International, national resources

Crews are currently facing a number of different challenges. The overall challenge, Fraser says, is the stretch on resources around BC.

“We have reached out to out-of-province personnel both nationally and internationally,” she explains. “So we do have some crews from Alberta and the Northwest Territories that arrived here a couple of days ago, some more from Saskatchewan expected [Sunday].”

Firefighting personnel are also going to be arriving from Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico in coming weeks. Crews from these countries were also called in to assist last year, when BC marked its worst wildfire season on record.

“We had a lot of international help last year, which was very appreciated,” Fraser tells NEWS 1130.

She says the BC Wildfire Service is extending its request for help internationally both because the situation is quite serious, but also to try to avoid a situation like the province saw in 2017.

“We’re definitely in a much different fire season than we saw last year. There’s quite a lot of fires happening, but not the severity that we saw last year. So we’ve called in additional resources, not only to maintain the ability to respond to what we’re dealing with now, but also to look ahead.”

Fraser points to the fact that there’s still a little more than a month of summer left. “We definitely want to make sure we’re pacing our own people, given that August has been off to such a busy start.”

Don’t be complacent

As many head out of town this weekend and into the backcountry, the BC Wildfire Service is once again reminding people to be careful.

“Avoid any activity that could cause a wildfire,” Fraser urges. “We’re responding to a significant amount of lightning-caused wildfires at the moment, so any human-caused fires are entirely preventable and they also divert crucial fire fighting resources away from these naturally occurring fires.”

Don’t forget, campfire bans are in effect almost entirely across the province, except for in the Prince George fire centre. Failure to comply with a fire ban can land you a $1,150 ticket.

You’re asked to report anything you see.

Wildfires that shut down HWY 3 likely human caused: BCWS

A pair of wildfires that shut down a portion of Highway 3 near Keremeos for a few hours Saturday morning were likely human caused, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

“The biggest one is two hectares and the smaller one is 0.6 hectares,” Fire Information Officer Nicole Bonnett says. “They are believed to be suspected as of some sort of human activity so we do have our fire origin and cause team going up to site today.”

The highway has since re-opened but Bonnett says firefighters are still on scene mopping up hot-spots.

“We had a few crews out there [early Saturday morning] so they were able to respond very quickly, and we had another crew come out from the Penticton area so everybody got out there very fast,” she says. “Obviously it’s a priority, they’re right along the road there.”

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SICAMOUS, B.C. – A 23-year-old New Zealand woman has died after she and three friends jumped from a bridge in Sicamous.

RCMP say it happened at around 2 a.m. Wednesday when all four people leaped from the bridge, 20 metres above the channel connecting Shuswap and Mara lakes, 75 kilometres north of Vernon.

When the woman didn’t resurface after the jump her friends found her and pulled her to shore where she was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead.

Police say there is nothing criminal about the death.

The BC Coroners Service is continuing an investigation and the woman’s name will not be released.

The death is the second water-related fatality in Sicamous this summer and the Lifesaving Society of BC and Yukon says 34 drowning deaths had been recorded in B.C. up to August 1.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A strong but deep earthquake has struck New Zealand’s North Island, causing the nation’s parliament to be briefly suspended as a precaution.

There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

The magnitude 6.1 quake struck Tuesday afternoon about 77 kilometres (48 miles) northeast of the town of New Plymouth. It was at a depth of 227 kilometres (141 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Thousands of people felt the quake, some as far away as the South Island.

The quake did not disrupt an event in Auckland attended by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and wife Meghan were visiting the head office of a charity dedicated to supporting the children of prisoners.

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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Thousands of people paid tribute Sunday at makeshift memorials to the 50 people slain by a gunman at two mosques in Christchurch, while dozens of Muslims stood by to bury the dead when authorities finally release the victims’ bodies.

Hundreds of flowers were piled up amid candles, balloons and notes of grief and love outside the Al Noor mosque and the city’s botanic gardens. As a light rain fell, people clutched each other and wept quietly.

“We wish we knew your name to write upon your heart. We wish we knew your favorite song, what makes you smile, what makes you cry,” read one of the tributes, which contained cut-out paper hearts under a nearby tree. “We made a heart for you. 50 hearts for 50 lives.”

Two days after Friday’s attack, New Zealand’s deadliest shooting in modern history, relatives were still waiting for authorities to release the bodies. Islamic law calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours.

Supporters arrived from across the country to help with the burials in Christchurch and authorities sent in backhoes to dig graves at a site that was newly fenced off and blocked from view with white netting.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said authorities hoped to release all the bodies by Wednesday, and Police Commissioner Mike Bush said authorities were working with pathologists and coroners to complete the task as soon as they could.

“We have to be absolutely clear on the cause of death and confirm their identity before that can happen,” Bush added. “But we are so aware of the cultural and religious needs. So we are doing that as quickly and as sensitively as possible.”

Police said they had released a preliminary list of the victims to families, which has helped give closure to some who were waiting for any news.

The suspect in the shootings, 28-year-old white supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, appeared in court Saturday amid strict security, shackled and wearing all-white prison garb, and showed no emotion when the judge read one murder charge and said more would likely follow.

Tarrant had posted a jumbled 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto online before the attacks and apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter.

Facebook said it removed 1.5 million videos of the shootings during the first 24 hours after the massacre.

The revelation in a late Saturday tweet provided a chilling snapshot of how quickly provocative — and often disturbing — images circulate on the internet.

Ardern said the gunman had sent the manifesto to her office email about nine minutes before the attacks, although she hadn’t gotten the email directly herself. She said her office was one of about 30 recipients and had forwarded the email to parliamentary security within a couple of minutes of receiving it.

Bush said at a news conference that another body had been found at Al Noor mosque as they finished removing the victims, bringing the number of people killed there to 42. Another seven people were killed at Linwood mosque and one more person died later at Christchurch Hospital.

Thirty-four wounded remained at the hospital, where officials said 12 were in critical condition. A 4-year-old girl at a children’s hospital in Auckland was also listed as critical.

Stunned Christchurch residents trying to make sense of the tragedy tied large messages of support to the fence of the botanical gardens where flowers were piling up.

“We are a nation who will never accept acts like this!!!,” said a poster-sized message decorated with hearts. “We stand with the Muslim community. We will always fight for the safety of our community. We will always stand as one.”

Some people sang tributes and others prayed as camera crews from around the world filmed the moving scenes.

“We are supposed to be a safe place to go about your business and regardless of what your faith is no one should’ve had to go through what we went through on Friday,” city resident Russell Falcome-Price said.

Dozens of Muslim supporters gathered at a center set up for victims, families and friends across the road from the hospital, where many had flown in from around New Zealand to offer support. About two dozen men received instructions on their duties Sunday, which included Muslim burial customs.

Abdul Hakim, 56, of Auckland, was among many who had flown in to help.

“As soon as people die, we must bury them as soon as possible,” Hakim said. “We are all here to help them in washing the body, putting them in the grave.”

Javed Dadabhai, who flew from Auckland after learning about the death of his 35-year-old cousin, Junaid Mortara, said the Muslim community was being patient.

“The family understands that it’s a crime scene. It’s going to be a criminal charge against the guy who’s done this, so they need to be pretty thorough,” he said.

Still, it was hard, he said, because the grieving process wouldn’t really begin until he could bury his cousin.

People across the country were still trying to come to terms with the massacre that Ardern described as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”

At the Vatican, Pope Francis offered prayers for “our Muslim brothers” killed in the attack. At his traditional Sunday prayer, Francis renewed “an invitation to unite in prayer and gestures of peace to oppose hatred and violence.”

The gunman livestreamed 17 minutes of the rampage at the Al Noor mosque, where he sprayed worshippers with bullets. Facebook, Twitter and Google scrambled to take down the video, which was widely available on social media for hours after the bloodbath.

The second attack took place at the Linwood mosque about 5 kilometers (3 miles) away.

Ardern has said Tarrant was a licensed gun owner who legally bought the five guns he used.

At a news conference, the prime minister reiterated her promise that there will be changes to the country’s gun laws. She said her Cabinet will discuss the policy details Monday.

Arden used some of her strongest language yet about gun control, saying that laws need to change and “they will change.”

Neighboring Australia has virtually banned semi-automatic rifles from private ownership since a lone gunman killed 35 people with assault rifles in 1996.

Before Friday’s attack, New Zealand’s deadliest shooting in modern history took place in 1990 in the small town of Aramoana, where a gunman killed 13 people following a dispute with a neighbor.

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Fifty people were killed in a terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. Some information on the victims who were lost:

HUSNA AHMED

Farid Ahmed refuses to turn his back on his adopted home, despite losing his 45-year-old wife, Husna Ahmed, in the Al Noor mosque attack. They had split up to go to the bathroom when it happened.

The gunman livestreamed the massacre on the internet, and Ahmed later saw a video of his wife being shot. A police officer confirmed she died.

Despite the horror, Ahmed — originally from Bangladesh — still considers New Zealand a great country.

“I believe that some people, purposely, they are trying to break down the harmony we have in New Zealand with the diversity,” he said. “But they are not going to win. They are not going to win. We will be harmonious.”

___

FARHAJ AHSAN

The 30-year-old software engineer moved to New Zealand six years ago from the city of Hyderabad in India, where his parents still live, according to the Mumbai Mirror.

“We received the disturbing news,” Ahsan’s father, Mohammed Sayeeduddin told the newspaper Saturday. Friends and family had been trying to reach Ahsan since the attack.

Ahsan was married and had a 3-year-old daughter and infant son.

___

ABDULLAHI DIRIE

Four of Adan Ibrahin Dirie’s five children managed to escape Friday’s attacks, but the youngest, 4-year-old Abdullahi, was killed, his uncle, Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, a preacher at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, told the New Zealand Herald.

Dirie also suffered gunshot wounds and was hospitalized. The family fled Somalia in the mid-1990s as refugees and resettled in New Zealand.

“You cannot imagine how I feel,” Hashi said.

He added: “He was the youngest in the family. This is a problem of extremism. Some people think the Muslims in their country are part of that, but these are innocent people.”

___

ALI ELMADANI

Elmadani and his wife emigrated from the United Arab Emirates in 1998. The retired Christchurch engineer always told his children to be strong and patient, so that’s what they are trying to do after the tragedy, his daughter, Maha Elmadani, told Stuff.

“He considered New Zealand home and never thought something like this would happen here,” she said.

She said her mother “is staying as strong as possible. My younger brother isn’t doing too well with the news.”

___

ATTA ELAYYAN

Atta Elayyan, 33, was a goalkeeper for a New Zealand futsal team.

The Oceania Football Confederation said those who knew Elayyan described him as having “an unbridled passion for futsal and for representing New Zealand.” Futsal is a variant of indoor soccer. A statement from the confederation released Monday extended condolences to Atta’s family and all of those affected.

OFC official Paul Toohey said Elayyan was a selfless man who always had time for friends, family, teammates and young up-and-coming players. “Atta was everything a team could want — an outstanding performer who was dedicated to his goalkeeping craft — but also a great friend and leader among his teammates at Canterbury United Dragons and the Futsal Whites,” Toohey said.

His father, Mohammed Elyan, co-founded one of the mosques in 1993, and was among those wounded, said Muath Elyan, Mohammed’s brother, who said he spoke to Mohammed’s wife after the shooting. Muath said his brother also teaches engineering at a university and runs a consultancy.

___

LILIK ABDUL HAMID

The longtime aircraft maintenance engineer at Air New Zealand was killed in the Al Noor mosque when he was killed, his employer said in a statement.

“Lilik has been a valued part of our engineering team in Christchurch for 16 years, but he first got to know the team even earlier when he worked with our aircraft engineers in a previous role overseas,” Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon said. “The friendships he made at that time led him to apply for a role in Air New Zealand and make the move to Christchurch. His loss will be deeply felt by the team.

Hamid was married and had two children, Luxon said.

“Lilik, his wife Nina and their children Zhania and Gerin are well known and loved by our close-knit team of engineers and their families, who are now doing all they can to support the family alongside our leadership team and the airline’s special assistance team,” he said.

___

MUCAAD IBRAHIM

At just 3 years old, Mucaad Ibrahim is the youngest known victim of the attacks. He was separated from his older brother Abdi and their father when the shooting began at the Al Noor mosque.

After an agonizing search by the family, Abdi said police finally confirmed that the toddler had been killed.

Mucaad was born and raised in Christchurch. He was beloved by the community, known for his energetic demeanour and easy laugh. He was bright and bubbly, and loved playing with an iPad.

Ahmed Osman, a close family friend, said Mucaad used to cheer from the sidelines as Osman and Abdi played soccer on Friday evenings at a park near the mosque. The little boy had planned to watch them play soccer as usual on Friday. He never made it.

Osman said the support of the community has helped the family pull through.

“New Zealand is always behind us,” he said. “Even when we walk down the street, people stop us and say, ‘Are you guys OK?’ That’s what New Zealand is about. It’s all about coming together. One person cannot stop us.”

___

MOHAMMAD IMRAN KHAN

A handwritten cardboard sign outside Mohammad Imran Khan’s restaurant, the Indian Grill in Christchurch, on Sunday said simply CLOSED. A handful of pink flowers laid nearby.

The owner of the convenience store next door, JB’s Discounter, Jaiman Patel, 31, said he helped the staff with the keys after the terrorist attack that claimed Khan’s life.

“He’s a really good guy. I tried to help him out with the setup and everything,” Patel said. “We also put the key out for them when the terrorists come, and sorted it out for him.”

Khan had a son who was 10 or 11, Patel said.

The two were business neighbours who helped each other out when needed, he said.

“We are helping each other. It’s so sad.”

___

SAYYAD MILNE

Milne, 14, was described as a good-natured, kind teenager. The high school student was at the Al Noor mosque for Friday prayers when the attack started, his half-sister, Brydie Henry, told the Stuff media outlet.

Sayyad was last seen “lying on the floor of the bloody mosque, bleeding from his lower body,” she said her father told her.

Sayyad’s mother, Noraini, was also in the mosque and managed to escape, Henry said. The teenager has two other siblings, 15-year-old twins Shuayb and Cahaya.

“They’re all at home just waiting. They’re just waiting and they don’t know what to do,” Henry told the news site.

“He had kind eyes, a big heart, a cheeky smile and a thick mop of black hair. He loved playing football and also indoor futsal,” Cashmere High School principal Mark Wilson told students at an assembly Monday.

The school’s futsal goalkeeper planned to travel with the team to the national tournament in Wellington this month.

___

JUNAID MORTARA

Javed Dadabhai is mourning for his gentle cousin, 35-year-old Junaid Mortara, believed to have died in the first mosque attack.

His cousin was the breadwinner of the family, supporting his mother, his wife and their three children, ages 1 to 5. Mortara had inherited his father’s convenience store, which was covered in flowers on Saturday.

Mortara was an avid cricket fan, and would always send a sparring text with relatives over cricket matches when Canterbury faced Auckland.

___

HAJI DAOUD NABI

Nabi, 71, moved his family to New Zealand in 1979 to escape the Soviet-Afghan war. Days before the shootings, his son, Omar, recalled his father speaking about the importance of unity.

“My father said how important it is to spread love and unity among each other and protect every member of the society we live in,” Omar told Al-Jazeera.

Omar told the news network his father ran an Afghan Association and helped refugees settle in to a new country.

“He used to make them feel at home,” Omar said.

___

HUSNE ARA PARVIN

Parvin, 42, died being struck by bullets while trying to shield her wheelchair-bound husband, Farid Uddin Ahmed, her nephew Mahfuz Chowdhury told The Daily Star , a Bangladesh newspaper.

Chowdhury said Uddin had been ill for years and Parvin took him to the mosque every other Friday. She had taken him to the mosque for men while she went to the one for women. Mahfuz said relatives in New Zealand told him when the shootings began, Parvin rushed to her husband’s mosque to protect him. He survived.

The Bangladeshi couple had moved to New Zealand sometime after 1994, Chowdhury said.

___

HUSSEIN AL-UMARI

When Aya Al-Umari thinks of her big brother, she pictures him with his arms wide open, ready to wrap her in an embrace. Hussein Al-Umari was a hugger, she says, a kind man, and the quintessential big brother who delighted in teasing his little sister.

Hussein, 35, was killed while attending Friday prayers at Al Noor mosque.

Aya had spent the previous evening having dinner with him, and she recalled how excited he was that their parents had just bought a new car.

She and her brother were born in Abu Dhabi and moved with their parents to New Zealand in 1997. Hussein worked in the tourism industry, and he loved travelling. He had recently travelled to the seaside South Island city of Nelson and had created a video blog of his adventures. Aya had been impressed by how polished it was.

Their mother, an Iraqi calligraphy artist named Janna Ezzat, wrote on Facebook that her son had become a martyr.

Ezzat wrote: “Our son was full of life and always put the needs of others in front of his own.”

___

INDIAN VICTIMS

India’s ambassador to New Zealand issued the following names of Indian citizens who were killed in the attacks:

— Maheboob Khokhar

— Ramiz Vora

— Asif Vora

— Ansi Alibava

— Ozair Kadir

Indian news reports said Alibava, 25, had moved to New Zealand last year after marrying Abdul Nazar.

The Indian Express newspaper said she was studying agriculture technology at Lincoln University and her husband worked at a supermarket in Christchurch. They got married in 2017.

The Manorama Online news site said her mother, Rasia, had prayed for the safety of the two when the news broke of the attacks.

Alibava used to call her family back in India every day, but they were worried when there was no call after the shootings. They later found out from the husband what had happened.

The report said she was hoping to find a job in New Zealand to support her family back home.

___

PAKISTANI VICTIMS

Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed nine Pakistanis were killed in the attacks. They have been identified as follow:

—Ghulam Hussain and his wife, Karam Bibi, and their son Zeeshan Raza

— Haroon Mahmood, 40, son of Shahid Mehmood

—Sohail Shahid, 40, son of Muhammad Shabbir

— Syed Areeb Ahmed, 26, son of Ayaz Ahmed

—Syed Jahanand Ali, 34

—Naeem Rashid, 50, and his son Talha Naeem, 21

As the shootings unfolded, Naeem Rashid is seen on video trying to tackle the gunman, according to Rashid’s brother, Khurshid Alam.

“He was a brave person, and I’ve heard from a few people there, there were a few witnesses. They’ve said he saved a few lives there by trying to stop that guy,” Alam told the BBC.

Rashid’s son, Talha Naeem, is also among the dead.

The elder Rashid was a teacher in Christchurch and was from Abbottabad, Pakistan. His son was 11 when his family moved to New Zealand. He had a new job and planned to get married.

Rashid’s brother, Dr. Mohammad Khursheed, who lives in Abbottabad, received an emotional call from his sister-in-law telling him of his brother’s death.

Khursheed said his brother had already bought a plane ticket to Pakistan for a May family reunion.

Pakistan declared Monday a national day of mourning to honour its citizens killed in the attack, and said Rashid would be recognized for his heroism.

Another Pakistani victim, Syed Areeb Ahmed, was an only son who had immigrated to New Zealand for work, said his uncle Muhammad Muzaffar Khan. Ahmed was an accountant who has just begun his career.

“Education had always remained his first priority,” said his uncle, adding that the family in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi were waiting for his body to be returned home. “He had gone to New Zealand recently, where he got his job. He had only started his career, but the enemies took his life.”

___

HAMZA MUSTAFA

Hamza’s family fled the civil war in Syria, then he spent six of his young years as a refugee in Jordan before the family was accepted into New Zealand in 2018.

An excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian, Hamza, 16, was compassionate and a hard-working student, said Cashmere High School principal Mark Wilson.

“Despite the fact that he hadn’t been here for a long time he had already quickly developed many friends,” he said.

His younger brother Zaed, also a Cashmere student, remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds to his leg. Their father, Khalid, also died in the attack on the Al Noor Mosque.

___

KHALID MUSTAFA

Mustafa, who fled the civil war in Syria with his family, was at Friday’s Al Noor service with his two sons, 16-year-old Hamza and 13-year-old Zaed.

He died, along with Hamza, while Zaed remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Mustafa’s wife, Salwa, told Radio New Zealand that when the family asked about New Zealand before they were accepted in July 2018, they were told “it’s the safest country in the world, the most wonderful country you can go … you will start a very wonderful life there. But it wasn’t.”

___

TARIQ OMAR

Omar, a former Cashmere High School student from 2008 to 2012, was also among those who died, principal Mark Wilson said.

The post Stories of the victims of the New Zealand mosque attack appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — They came together as one, more than 1,000 students from rival Christchurch schools and different religions, joining voices to honour the 50 lives lost in a massacre that has deeply wounded the cozy New Zealand city.

In a park across from the Al Noor mosque, where dozens were killed by a white supremacist gunman, the students sat on the grass in Monday’s fading daylight, lifting flickering candles to the sky as they sang a traditional Maori song.

Hundreds then stood to perform a passionate, defiant haka, the famed ceremonial dance of the indigenous Maori people.

For many, joining the vigil for the victims of the mass shooting was a much-needed opportunity to soothe their minds after a wrenching few days.

Most of the students spent hours locked down in their schools on Friday as police tried to determine if any other shooters were involved in the attacks.

Those at the vigil told harrowing tales of being forced to hide under classroom tables or on a school stage behind a curtain, of being instructed not to speak, and to urinate in a bucket rather than risk leaving the classroom for a bathroom.

Sarah Liddell, 17, said many of her peers felt intense anxiety since the attack. There was a sense of safety in coming together on Monday, she said.

“I feel like it’s just really important to show everyone that one act of violence doesn’t define a whole city,” she said. “This is one of the best ways to show everyone coming together. Some schools have little funny rivalries, but in times like this we all just come together and that’s all forgotten.”

The students draped a fence along the park with chains of colorful paper notes, each emblazoned with messages of love and hope and sorrow: “You are not alone.” ″This is your home. You are part of us.” ″We all bleed the same colour.”

For 17-year-old Portia Raharaha, who attended the vigil with other students from her Catholic high school, watching the haka was particularly moving.

“All the races combining, all students, all ages, both genders, we’re all just coming together,” Raharaha said. “It definitely makes you feel like New Zealand really does come together in a time of darkness and we can really just be who we are,” she said. “Nothing has really changed. Maybe it’s shaken us, but it really hasn’t changed us.”

After the ceremony officially ended, many lingered, standing in circles, arms draped around each other’s shoulders, singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Maori songs. People wandered around with “free hugs” signs, embracing those in need. There were tears, but also smiles.

The students’ vigil was a striking and healing counterpoint to Monday’s developments in the mass shooting.

A Christchurch gun shop acknowledged selling guns online to the 28-year-old white supremacist accused of killing 50 people in shootings at two mosques that have upturned New Zealand’s reputation as one of the world’s most tolerant and safe nations.

At a news conference, Gun City owner David Tipple said the store sold four guns and ammunition to Brenton Harrison Tarrant through a “police-verified online mail order process.” The store “detected nothing extraordinary” about the buyer, he said.

Separately, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said gun law reforms would be announced within 10 days and an inquiry conducted into intelligence and security services that failed to detect the risk from the attacker or his plans. There have been concerns intelligence agencies were overly focused on the Muslim community in detecting and preventing security risks.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police are certain that Tarrant was the only gunman but aren’t ruling out that he had support.

“I would like to state that we believe absolutely there was only one attacker responsible for this,” he said at a news conference. “That doesn’t mean there weren’t possibly other people in support and that continues to form a very, very important part of our investigation.”

None of the guns sold to Tarrant were military-style, semi-automatic weapons, according to Tipple. It was not clear if any of the firearms Tarrant purchased from Gun City were used in the shootings.

In vowing to tighten gun laws, Ardern has said the attacker used five guns, two of them semi-automatic, which were purchased with an ordinary gun license and modified.

Tipple said he was disgusted by the killings but felt no responsibility for the tragedy and refused to say whether he believed gun ownership laws should change in New Zealand, insisting that a debate over guns should be held at another time.

His store has been criticized, in the wake of the shootings, for leaving out a roadside advertising billboard that shows a parent helping children with rifle target practice.

Tarrant, an Australian citizen who lived in New Zealand, appeared Saturday in court, where the judge read one murder charge and said more would likely follow.

Tarrant had posted a muddled, 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto online before the attacks and apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to stream live video of the slaughter.

Relatives of the dead are now anxiously awaiting word on when they can bury their loved ones. Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours.

Ardern has said authorities hope to release all the bodies by Wednesday and police said authorities are working with pathologists and coroners to complete the task as soon as they can.

Members of the Muslim community and police were at a cemetery that has been fenced off and obscured with white netting. Backhoes had stopped digging and police officers said they were setting up a media area inside the cemetery.

Kawthar Abulaban, 54, who survived the shooting at the Al Noor mosque, came to the cemetery to see the preparations. She did not mind the row of photographers and reporters lined up outside.

“It’s good for the world to see what’s happened because people around the world, they thought we were terrorists because some stupid people, they said they are Muslims, they go and kill innocent people,” said Abulaban, who migrated to New Zealand from Jordan 17 years ago.

“I will not change my opinion about New Zealand. It’s my country,” she said. “You know I have lots of support, lots of love, lots of kindness from all of the New Zealand people.”

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UTRECHT, Netherlands — Dutch prosecutors said Tuesday they are taking very seriously the possibility that the deadly shooting on a tram in the central city of Utrecht was an act of terror.

The nature of the Monday’s attack and a note found in a suspected getaway car suggest a possible terror motive, prosecutors said in a statement, but they add that other possible motives also are being investigated.

They did not elaborate on what was written in the note found in the car.

The statement also said that investigations so far have not established any relationship at all between the main suspect, Gokmen Tanis, and the shooting victims.

Prosecutors confirmed that three people died: a 19-year-old woman from the neighbouring town of Vianen, and two men aged 28 and 49 from Utrecht.

Three others were seriously wounded and four more suffered light injuries, according to prosecutors.

Tanis, a 37-year-old man of Turkish descent, was being held on suspicion of “manslaughter with terrorist intent,” though authorities have not ruled out other possible motives.

He was arrested Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt that nearly paralyzed the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city and sent shockwaves through this nation.

Officials said Tanis has had a long criminal record in the Netherlands involving a variety of offences — none terror-related — but gave no details.

Police spokesman Martin de Wit said that a total of three people — the alleged shooter and two others whose involvement was being investigated — were in custody following Monday’s attack.

Prosecutors said that police recovered a weapon during the arrest.

The tram shootings came just days after 50 people were killed when an immigrant-hating Australian white supremacist opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday prayers. There was no indication of any link between the two events.

Prosecutors were questioning all three suspects and it was not yet clear if Tanis would be brought before an investigating judge on Tuesday.

Such hearings are generally held to request suspects are detained for longer pending further investigations.

Members of the public and Utrecht’s mayor on Tuesday placed bunches of flowers near the busy traffic intersection where the gunfire erupted Monday on a tram.

One bunch carried a message in Dutch saying: “We are sad and deeply shaken. Utrecht has been hit hard; straight through the heart. Strength!! Peace and Love.”

While the investigation appeared to be increasingly focused on a terrorist motive, authorities have not ruled out other possibilities. Dutch and Turkish media citing his neighbours in Utrecht have speculated that the shooting may have been linked to a relationship, but that appears increasingly unlikely after prosecutors said none of the victims were known to the main suspect.

Dutch media published details of two of the victims killed Monday — the 19-year-old woman reportedly worked in a cafe in Vianen, and a father-of-three who volunteered as a soccer coach in Vleuten, a town west of Utrecht.

A phone call from The Associated Press to the cafe Tuesday morning went unanswered.

The soccer club posted a message saying they heard “with great dismay and astonishment” that the trainer of an under-19 boys’ team and under-11 girls’ team died in the shooting.

The post Dutch prosecutors consider terror motive in tram shooting appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

“Thoughts and prayers” is basically a joke by now—especially when accompanied by nothing else. Generic statements are roundly criticized. Specific ones are picked apart. But still, when something devastating happens, politicians of all stripes, from all nations, feel the need to quickly say…something.

A leader offering support to their own citizens is part of the job. A leader from a country half a world away putting out a Tweet is…not that. So why do they bother? Who are these brief statements of sympathy intended for? And do they actually help the people impacted by the tragedy in question? If not, why make them? Is there a “good” way for a politician to tweet in the immediate aftermath of tragedies that can sometimes seem like daily occurrences?

GUEST: Fatima Syed, National Observer

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on iTunes or Google Play.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

The post What to say (and not to say) in the wake of tragedy appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for “the safest country in the world” were buried before hundreds of mourners Wednesday, the first funerals for victims of shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that horrified a nation known for being welcoming and diverse.

The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch — a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook.

Hamza’s high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said he was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian.

RELATED: New Zealand holds first funerals for mosque shooting victims

Those present included Hamza’s younger brother, 13-year-old Zaed, who was wounded in an arm and a leg during the attack. The boy tried to stand during the ceremony but had to sit back in his wheelchair, one mourner said.

“We tried to not shake his hand, and not touch his hand or his foot, but he refused, he wanted to shake everybody’s hand, he wanted to show everyone that he appreciated them. And that’s amazing,” said Jamil El-Biza, who travelled from Australia to attend the funeral.

The Mustafas had moved to New Zealand last year, after spending six years as refugees in Jordan. Mustafa’s wife, Salwa, told Radio New Zealand that when the family asked about New Zealand they were told “it’s the safest country in the world, the most wonderful country you can go … you will start a very wonderful life there.”

She added, “But it wasn’t.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the family should have been safe.

“I cannot tell you how gutting it is to know that a family came here for safety and for refuge,” she said.

Families of those killed had been anxiously awaiting word on when they could bury their loved ones. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police have now formally identified and released the remains of 21 of those killed. Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible.

WATCH: Vancouver vigil condemning New Zealand attacks

Four other burials were underway on Wednesday evening. Those victims include Junaid Ismail, Ashraf Ali and Lilik Abdul Hamid. The fourth victim’s name was suppressed by court order.

The burials began soon after Ardern renewed her call for people to speak of the victims rather than the man who killed them.

Also on Wednesday, a man accused of sharing video footage of Friday’s massacre was jailed by a judge until his next court appearance in mid-April. And Bush said he believes police officers stopped the gunman on his way to a third attack.

Ardern’s plea against giving the accused gunman notoriety followed his move to represent himself in court, raising concerns he would attempt to use the trial as a platform for airing his racist views.

During a visit Wednesday to the high school Hamza and another victim attended, Ardern revisited that thought and asked students not to say the attacker’s name or dwell on him.

“Look after one another, but also let New Zealand be a place where there is no tolerance for racism,” she told students at Cashmere High School. “That’s something we can all do.”

RELATED: Father and son who fled Syria are buried in New Zealand

Another Cashmere student, 14-year-old Sayyad Milne, also died in the attack.

About 30 people wounded in the attacks remained hospitalized as of Tuesday evening. Around 10 of them were in critical condition, including a 4-year-old girl.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian man, has been charged with murder and is next scheduled to appear in court on April 5. Police have said they are certain Tarrant was the only gunman but are still investigating whether he had support from others.

Ardern previously has said reforms of New Zealand’s gun laws would be announced next week and she said an inquiry would be convened to look into the intelligence and security services’ failures to detect the risk from the attacker or his plans.

New Zealand’s international spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, confirmed it had not received any relevant information or intelligence before the shootings.

Philip Arps, 44, appeared in a Christchurch court Wednesday on two charges of distributing the killer’s livestream video of the attack on the Al Noor mosque, the first mosque that was attacked, a violation of the country’s objectionable publications law. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Arps, heavily tattooed and dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, hasn’t entered a plea. He remained expressionless during the hearing, his hands clasped behind his back.

Judge Stephen O’Driscoll denied him bail.

Charging documents accuse Arps of distributing the video on Saturday, one day after the massacre.

Most details of bail hearings are suppressed under New Zealand law. The judge made an additional suppression order regarding the police summary of facts in the case, limiting reporting of the accusations to the charges themselves.

Bush, the police commissioner, said they believe they know where the gunman was going for a third attack when officers rammed his car off the road but won’t say more because it’s an active investigation.

In a 74-page manifesto he released before the attack, Tarrant said he was going to attack two mosques in Christchurch and then one in the town of Ashburton if he made it that far.

Bush also revised his timeline, saying officers rammed the suspect’s car 21 minutes after the first emergency call, rather than 36 minutes. Bush said FBI agents have traveled to New Zealand to help with the investigation.

Abizar Valibhai, of Christchurch, said Wednesday’s burials marked an important moment.

“It’s not only for the Muslim community, but for the whole of New Zealand, and the world as well,” he said. “If we don’t show our support at this time, when are we going to show it?”

He said there would be many waves of emotions to come for the families of the victims.

“They are fathers, they are mothers, they are brothers, they are sisters, they are wives,” he said. “There are a lot of things that will be shattered.”

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Locals in Vancouver with a connection to New Zealand are gathering Wednesday evening to reflect on the lives lost when a white supremacist gunned down worshipers at two mosques.

Fifty people were killed in the attack.

Kia Ora Vancouver is hosting a remembrance gathering, in the hopes of create a space for those who would like to reflect on the attack. There will be singing and a moment of silence. Attendees will be invited to share their thoughts.

“We just hope that people can feel a bit closer to home if we’re together,” said Anastasia Sillick of Kia Ora Vancouver.

Sillick says while there have been multiple vigils around the Lower Mainland, New Zealanders in the city have been looking for a place to come together with others from their country.

“We saw a need in the community to come together for us Kiwis to have a place to hold space and show respect for those who lost their lives,” Sillick said.

She says there are no expectations for the event, adding it is an “informal” gathering for people who want to support each other.

“We just want to create a space for people to come together in love and light,” she said.

The event begins at 6:15 p.m. at Sunset Beach.

The post New Zealanders in Vancouver gathering to mourn lives lost in mosque shooting appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an immediate ban Thursday on sales of “military-style” semi-automatic and automatic weapons like the ones used in the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 worshippers.

The man charged in the attack had purchased his weapons legally using a standard firearms license and enhanced their capacity by using 30-round magazines “done easily through a simple online purchase,” she said.

“Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” she said.

Ardern’s announcement comes less than a week after the killings, as more of the dead were being buried. At least six funerals took place Thursday, including for a teenager, a youth soccer coach and a Muslim convert who loved connecting with other women at the mosque.

One of New Zealand’s largest gun retailers, Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, said it supports “any government measure to permanently ban such weapons.”

“While we have sold them in the past to a small number of customers, last week’s events have forced a reconsideration that has led us to believe such weapons of war have no place in our business — or our country,” CEO Darren Jacobs said in a statement.

Regardless of the ban, the company would no longer stock any assault-style firearms of any category and would also stop selling firearms online, he said.

Polly Collins, 64, of Christchurch, was thrilled to hear of Ardern’s announcement as she visited a flower memorial for the victims.

“The prime minister is amazing,” she said. “It’s not like in America, where they have all these things and then they go ‘Oh yeah, we’ll deal with the gun laws,’ and nothing’s done.”

At the cemetery, solemn farewells continued for Cashmere High School student Sayyad Ahmad Milne, 14, who was known as an outgoing boy and the school’s futsal goalkeeper. Tariq Rashid Omar, 24, graduated from the same school, played soccer in the summer and was a beloved coach of several youth teams and was also buried Thursday.

In a post on Facebook, Christchurch United Football Club Academy Director Colin Williamson described Omar as “a beautiful human being with a tremendous heart and love for coaching.”

Linda Armstrong, 64, a third-generation New Zealander who converted to Islam in her 50s, was also buried, as were Hussein Mohamed Khalil Moustafa, 70, Matiullah Safi, 55, and Haji Mohammed Daoud Nabi.

Families of those killed had been awaiting word on when they could bury their loved ones. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said authorities have formally identified and released the remains of 21 victims. Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible.

An Australian white supremacist, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, was run off the road and arrested by police while he was believed to be on his way to a third target. He had livestreamed the attack on Facebook and said in his manifesto he planned to attack three mosques.

Tarrant, 28, is next scheduled to appear in court on April 5. Police have said they are certain Tarrant was the only gunman but are still investigating whether he had support.

Meanwhile, preparations were underway for a massive Friday prayer service to be led by the imam of one of the two New Zealand mosques where worshippers were killed.

Imam Gamal Fouda said he is expecting 3,000 to 4,000 people at Friday’s prayer service, including many who have come from abroad. He expects it will take place in Hagley Park, a city landmark across from Al Noor mosque with members of the Linwood mosque also attending.

Al Noor workers have been trying feverishly to repair the destruction at the mosque, Fouda said.

“They will bury the carpet,” he said. “Because it is full of blood, and it’s contaminated.”

Fouda said that he expects the mosque to be ready to open again by next week and that some skilled workers had offered their services for free.

“The support we have been getting from New Zealand and the community has been amazing,” he said.

As the investigation continues into the attack, Ardern has also said an inquiry would look into intelligence and security services’ failures to detect the risk from the attacker or his plans.

Ardern said Thursday the government is working on a large-scale buy-back plan to encourage owners of now-banned weapons to surrender them. She did not say what would happen to those who violate the law.

She also said she and the Cabinet would work through legal exemptions to the ban, such as for farmers needing to cull their herds but said any exemptions would be “tightly regulated.”

“For other dealers, sales should essentially now cease. My expectation is that these weapons will now be returned to your suppliers and never enter into the New Zealand market again,” she said.

___

Associated Press writer Kristen Gelineau also contributed to this report.

The post After mosque attacks, New Zealand banning ‘military-style’ guns appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Only a week after attacks on two mosques in New Zealand killed 50 worshippers, the country has banned sales of “military-style” semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.

In the world of politics, it’s a lightning-fast response, especially when compared to the deeply contentious, long-running gun control debate in the United States.

The suddenness of Thursday’s ban, which came as the dead were being buried, has raised many questions, especially for those not familiar with firearms.

Here’s a closer look:

___

WHAT’S BEING BANNED?

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that “every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack last Friday will be banned.” She said that includes “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines.

Ardern said a sales ban was effective immediately to prevent stockpiling and would be followed by a complete ban on the weapons after new laws are rushed through.

The ban includes any semi-automatic guns or shotguns that are capable of being used with a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds. It also extends to accessories used to convert guns into what the government called “military-style” weapons.

Many different types of firearms, from pistols to rifles and shotguns, can be semi-automatic. Semi-automatic refers to a firearm’s ability to self-load, not only firing a bullet with each trigger pull, but also reloading and making the firearm capable of firing again.

___

WHAT’S NOT BEING BANNED?

The ban does not include semi-automatic .22 calibre or smaller guns that hold up to 10 rounds or semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns with non-detachable magazines that hold up to five rounds. The guns not banned are commonly used by farmers and hunters.

Calibre is the measurement of the diameter of the inside of a gun barrel. A higher calibre firearm uses larger rounds that can do more tissue damage and are more lethal.

The government said the police and military would be exempt, as would businesses carrying out professional pest control. Access for international shooting competitions would also be considered.

___

WHAT HAPPENS TO BANNED GUNS?

Ardern said people could hand over their guns under an amnesty while officials develop a formal buyback scheme, which could cost up to 200 million New Zealand dollars ($140 million).

New Zealand police said on their website that the “transitional period” would allow people to arrange to hand over their unlawful firearms to police without penalties. It encouraged people to fill out an online form and said after that police would be in touch to make arrangements.

There could be legal exemptions to the ban, such as for pest controllers, but Ardern said any exemptions would be “tightly regulated.”

“For other dealers, sales should essentially now cease. My expectation is that these weapons will now be returned to your suppliers and never enter into the New Zealand market again,” she said.

___

HOW MANY GUNS ARE AFFECTED?

There are nearly 250,000 licensed gun owners in New Zealand, which has a population of 5 million people. Officials estimate there are 1.5 million guns in the country.

Sydney University gun policy expert Philip Alpers estimated that only 6 per cent of all weapons in New Zealand were registered.

He said there could be 500,000 semi-automatic rifles and shotguns. But, he added, “only a small proportion of those would be capable of taking a large-capacity magazine. So that’s the number that everyone is trying to guess.”

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DO NEW ZEALANDERS SUPPORT IT?

The ban is widely supported and puts New Zealand “almost exactly in line” with Australia, the United Kingdom and “somewhat with Canada,” according to Professor Kevin Clements, chairman of Peace and Conflicts studies at the University of Otago and a firearms expert.

One of New Zealand’s largest gun retailers, Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, said it supports “any government measure to permanently ban such weapons.”

The company said it would no longer stock any assault-style firearms of any category and would also stop selling firearms online.

“What (Ardern’s) done is a very brave move, and it’s the kind of move that can only be done in a common-law country where guns are not a right. Guns are a real privilege. If there was a legal right like there is in the United States, this would be much more difficult,” said International law Professor Alexander Gillespie of Waikato University.

But, he added, “it’s going to be expensive, and there’s going to be a lot of pushback.”

___

WHAT’S NEXT?

Alpers noted that New Zealand, although it requires handgun registration, “is still the only country apart from the United States and to some degree Canada that doesn’t have (firearm) registration as its third pillar of gun control” along with licensing and treating possession as a conditional privilege.

Alpers said rifles and shotguns aren’t registered in the country.

He called that “a very important loophole” but said Ardern “has flagged her determination to pursue registration. Whether she’ll be able to do it completely or not … is another question.”

The post A closer look at New Zealand’s new weapons ban appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

VANCOUVER ISLAND (NEWS 1130) – People across Vancouver Island came together on March 22 to make people from different faiths feel welcome in the wake of the mosque shootings in New Zealand that stunned people around the world.

Youth members of the Sikh community organized a human chain to symbolically protect worshipers at a mosque in Victoria.

Up island, in Nanaimo, about a hundred non-Muslim people came to a ceremony at the local Islamic Centre, expressing support and solidarity for those in attendance.

The Vice-President of the center said the community was ‘overwhelmed’ by the response.

Events took place around the world on Friday to express solidarity with New Zealand in the wake of the March 14 attacks in Christchurch.

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Parliament will pass legislation on Thursday that could imprison social media executives if their platforms stream violent images such as the New Zealand mosque massacres.

Critics warn that some of the most restrictive laws about online communication in the democratic world could have unforeseen consequences, including media censorship and reduced investment in Australia.

The government introduced the bills in response to the March 15 attacks in Christchurch in which an Australian white supremacist gunman apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter of 50 worshippers in two mosques.

RELATED: Australian senator censured for blaming Muslim victims

The government wants the House of Representatives to pass the law on Thursday, Parliament’s last sitting day before elections are expected to be held in May.

“Together we must act to ensure that perpetrators and their accomplices cannot leverage online platforms for the purpose of spreading their violent and extreme propaganda — these platforms should not be weaponized for evil,” Attorney-General Christian Porter told Parliament while introducing the bill.

The opposition’s spokesman on the attorney-general portfolio, Mark Dreyfus, said the bill would be passed on Thursday with the opposition Labor Party’s support, despite misgivings. If the Labor won government at the election, the law would be reviewed by a parliamentary committee.

The bill was passed by the Senate with the opposition party’s support without debate on Wednesday night.

RELATED: New Zealand lawmakers pass initial vote for new gun controls

The bill would make it a crime for social media platforms not to remove “abhorrent violent material” quickly. The crime would be punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 10.5 million Australian dollars ($7.5 million) or 10% of the platform’s annual turnover.

Platforms anywhere in the world would face fines of up to AU$840,000 if they fail to notify Australian Federal Police if they are aware their service was streaming “abhorrent violent conduct” occurring in Australia.

Arthur Moses, president of the Australian Law Council, the nation’s top lawyers group, said the bill should be reviewed by a parliamentary committee before becoming law.

“Whistleblowers may no longer be able to deploy social media to shine a light on atrocities committed around the world because social media companies will be required to remove certain content for fear of being charged with a crime,” Moses said in a statement. “It could also lead to censorship of the media, which would be unacceptable.”

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox, a leading business advocate, said more time was required to ensure the law did not unnecessarily impinge on existing fundamental media rights and freedoms.

“Rushing this legislation through will not make Australia safe,” he said.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The man arrested in the New Zealand Christchurch terror attacks has now been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 charges of attempted murder, according to New Zealand Police.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant is due to make his second court appearance via video link on Friday although media photographs and reporting on the proceedings will be limited by New Zealand law.

Christchurch terror attacks — further charges laid.

Police can now confirm the man arrested in relation to the Christchurch terror attacks will face 50 Murder and 39 Attempted Murder charges when he appears in the High Court in Christchurch on Friday 5 April.

— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) April 4, 2019

Fifty people died in the March 15 attacks on two mosques.

RELATED: Accused New Zealand mosque shooter makes first court appearance

Tarrant won’t be required to enter a plea on Friday. The judge says the brief hearing will mainly be about Tarrant’s legal representation. He has said he wants to represent himself.

New Zealand tightly restricts what can be reported about upcoming court cases to avoid tainting the views of potential jurors.

The post Accused Christchurch terrorist now charged with 50 counts of murder appeared first on City NEWS 1130.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand judge on Friday ordered that the man accused of killing 50 people at two Christchurch mosques undergo two mental health assessments to determine if he’s fit to stand trial.

High Court judge Cameron Mander made the order during a hearing in which 28-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant appeared via video link from a small room at the maximum security Paremoremo prison in Auckland.

Mander said nothing should be read into his order for the mental health assessments, as it was a normal step in such a case. Lawyers said it could take two or three months to complete.

RELATED: German police: NZ attack suspect sent money to French group

The judge said Tarrant was charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder. Police initially filed a single, representative murder charge before filing the additional charges this week.

Tarrant was wearing handcuffs and a gray-colored sweater when he appeared on a large screen inside the Christchurch courtroom, which was packed with family members and victims of the shooting, some in wheelchairs and hospital gowns and still recovering from gunshot wounds.

Tarrant had stubble and close-cropped hair. He showed no emotion during the hearing. At times he looked around the room or cocked his head, seemingly to better hear what was being said. The judge explained that from his end, Tarrant could see the judge and lawyers but not those in the public gallery.

Tarrant spoke only once to confirm to the judge he was seated, although his voice didn’t come through because the sound was muted. It wasn’t immediately clear if his link had been deliberately or inadvertently muted.

The courtroom was filled with more than two dozen reporters and about 60 members of the public. A court registrar greeted people in Arabic and English as the hearing got underway. Some of those watching got emotional and wept.

In the March 15 attacks, 42 people were killed at the Al Noor mosque, seven were killed at the Linwood mosque and one more person died later.

RELATED: Australian Parliament to make platforms curb livestreaming

The day after the attacks, Tarrant dismissed an appointed lawyer, saying he wanted to represent himself. But he has now hired two Auckland lawyers to represent him, Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson. The next court hearing was scheduled for June 14, and the mental health findings would determine whether he is required to enter a plea then.

Outside the courtroom, Yama Nabi, whose father died in the attacks, said he felt helpless watching.

“We just have to sit in the court and listen,” Nabi said. “What can we do? We can’t do nothing. Just leave it to the justice of New Zealand and the prime minister.”

Tofazzal Alam, 25, said he was worshipping at the Linwood mosque when the gunman attacked. He felt it was important to attend the hearing because so many of his friends were killed.

Alam said he felt upset seeing Tarrant.

“It seems he don’t care what has been done. He has no emotion. He looks all right,” Alam said. “I feel sorry. Sorry for myself. Sorry for my friends who have been killed. And for him.”

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A top Sri Lanka official said Tuesday the Easter bombings that killed 321 people were carried out by a Islamic fundamentalists in apparent retaliation for the New Zealand mosque massacres last month by a white supremacist, while the Islamic State group sought to claim responsibility for the suicide blasts at churches, hotels and other sites.

The comments in Parliament by Ruwan Wijewardene, the state minister of defense, came shortly before IS asserted it was responsible for the bombings in and outside of Colombo, although the group gave no evidence to support its claims. Sri Lankan authorities previously blamed the attack on National Towheed Jamaar, a little-known Islamic extremist group in the island nation.

Wijewardene also blamed “weakness” within Sri Lanka’s security apparatus for failing to prevent the nine bombings.

“By now it has been established that the intelligence units were aware of this attack and a group of responsible people were informed about the impending attack,” Wijewardene said. “However, this information has been circulated among only a few officials.”

He said the government had evidence that the bombings were carried out “by an Islamic fundamentalist group” in retaliation for the mosque shootings on March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 people, although he did not disclose what the evidence was.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand police on Tuesday filed a terrorism charge against the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques.

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was already facing murder and attempted murder charges from the March 15 shootings.

The new charge comes with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment upon conviction and will be a test case for New Zealand’s terrorism law, which came onto the books in 2002 following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

The New Zealand law defines terrorism as including acts that are carried out to advance an ideological, political, or religious cause with the intention of inducing terror in a civilian population.

Read more: New Zealand lawmakers pass initial vote for new gun controls

Just before the attacks, Tarrant emailed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and others a manifesto outlining his white supremacist beliefs and his detailed plans for the shootings.

From the outset, Ardern has described the attacks as terrorism.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said in a statement they wouldn’t be commenting on the new charges as the case was before the courts.

A judge last month ordered that Tarrant undergo mental health assessments to determine if he’s fit to stand trial.

His next court hearing has been scheduled for June 14, and the mental health findings could determine whether he is required to enter a plea at that point.

Read more: Global condemnation, condolences after NZ mosque attack

Police also said Tuesday they had charged Tarrant with an additional count of murder, bringing the total number of murder charges against him to 51. That came after a Turkish man who was wounded in the attack died earlier this month in Christchurch Hospital.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A Christchurch businessman who shared a video of worshippers being slaughtered at a New Zealand mosque was sentenced on Tuesday to 21 months in prison.

Philip Arps had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing the video, which was livestreamed on Facebook by a gunman on March 15 as he began killing 51 people at two mosques.

Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said that when questioned about the video, Arps had described it as “awesome” and had shown no empathy toward the victims.

The judge said Arps had strong and unrepentant views about the Muslim community and had, in effect, committed a hate crime. The judge said Arps had compared himself to Rudolf Hess, a Nazi leader under Adolf Hitler.

“Your offending glorifies and encourages the mass murder carried out under the pretext of religious and racial hatred,” the judge said.

O’Driscoll said Arps had sent the video to 30 associates. The judge said Arps also asked somebody to insert crosshairs and include a kill count in order to create an internet meme, although there was no evidence he’d shared the meme.

Under New Zealand laws aimed at preventing the distribution of objectionable material, Arps faced up to 14 years imprisonment on each count.

In other cases, at least five other people were also charged with illegally sharing the shooting video. An 18-year-old was jailed in March while the others weren’t kept in custody. The teen is accused of sharing the video and an image of the Al Noor mosque with the words “target acquired.” He is next due to appear in court on July 31.

The judge said Arps had argued he had a right to distribute the video under the banner of freedom to pursue his political beliefs.

Arps’ lawyer Anselm Williams told the judge that Arps should not be sent to prison.

“It’s my submission that this court needs to be very careful to sentence Mr. Arps based on what it is that he has actually done, and what he accepts he has done, not on the basis of the views that he holds,” Williams said.

After the hearing, Williams said Arps had filed an appeal against his sentence at the High Court, but declined to comment further.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, last week pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in the mosque shooting case. His trial has been scheduled for next May.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has helped lead a global pledge named the “Christchurch Call,” aimed at boosting efforts to keep internet platforms from being used to spread hate, organize extremist groups and broadcast attacks. New Zealand has also tightened its gun laws and banned certain types of semi-automatic weapons since the attack.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A Canadian woman is “shocked and distressed” after she and her fiancé were randomly attacked while sleeping in their campervan in New Zealand on Friday, leaving the Australian man dead, police said.

A manhunt is now underway. New Zealand police said the couple was parked at a scenic spot near the coastal town of Raglan when a suspect approached their van just after 3 a.m. in the random attack.

Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley told media the suspect fired a number of shots into the van, injuring the Australian man. The woman managed to escape and run away, before calling police.

Police found the van at 8 a.m. about 75 kilometers away in the village of Gordonton, with the body of the Australian inside. It wasn’t immediately clear if the man had died from the wounds he received in the initial attack or had been subject to further violence.

“This is a tragic incident,” Pitkethley said. He added police were supporting the woman.

He said it was understandable people were worried the suspect remained armed and hadn’t been found.

“I want to reassure the public that we are working hard to identify and locate the offender,” Pitkethley said. “It is our absolute priority.”

Police deployed SWAT-style teams to the scene, and all police in the region began carrying guns as a precaution. New Zealand police typically don’t carry guns on routine patrols, keeping them stored in their cars instead.

Police did not immediately identify the victim, although New Zealand media said he was 33-year-old Sean McKinnon and the woman who escaped was his 32-year-old Canadian fiancé.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that McKinnon grew up in the town of Warrnambool, about 250 kilometers southwest of Melbourne, and that friends remembered him as a talented musician who liked to surf big waves.

Wayne Such told the newspaper that McKinnon was a “genuine gentle man with a heart of gold.”

Raglan is known as one of New Zealand’s top surf destinations.

New Zealand manhunt has striking resemblance to weeks-long search for B.C. murder suspects

The search for the suspect in New Zealand comes almost a month to the day since the deaths of three people in northern B.C., which would in turn spark a Canada-wide manhunt for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod, who were both found dead last week.

Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were both found dead along the Alaska Highway in mid-July, just south of Liard Hot Springs. Schmegelsky and McLeod were wanted in connection with their killings, and were also charged with the death of a UBC botanist, whose body was found just days after the tourists’ about 470 kilometres away.

The remains of the men from Vancouver Island were found in northern Manitoba a week ago, on Wednesday, after Mounties say the suspects killed themselves.

A former RCMP deputy commissioner pointed out some striking resemblances between the case in New Zealand and the one that unfolded across Canada, which drew international attention.

Investigators in B.C. have said they received more than 1,000 tips when the young suspects, Schmegelsky and McLeod, were on the run.

Virtually all of those tips were incorrect, even though the people reporting them were likely credible, Peter German, who retired from the RCMP in 2012, explained.

This type of thing, he said, presents a huge issue for police.

“It’s the one that you don’t follow up that ends up being the critical one, and the questions will then be asked, ‘why didn’t you?'” he said. “We’ve certainly seen that in previous manhunts and murder investigations and so forth, but now it’s just, it’s sort of like tips on steroids.”

Despite many of the tips in the Canada manhunt being incorrect, police have stressed the importance for people to report anything suspicious.