Inquiry into New Zealand’s deadliest shooting to start on Tuesday
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Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people and injured dozens of others when he opened fire on Muslim worshippers on March 15, 2019, in Christchurch.
PHOTO: AFP
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WELLINGTON – A coroner’s inquiry into the death of more than 50 people in 2019 in New Zealand’s deadliest shooting will start on Tuesday, hoping to establish what happened after the attack started and make recommendations to prevent deaths in the future.
Armed with high-capacity semi-automatic weapons, Australian Brenton Tarrant, 32, killed 51 people and injured dozens of others
Tarrant released a racist manifesto shortly before the attack and streamed the shootings live on Facebook.
The first phase of the inquiry will run for six weeks from Oct 24 in Christchurch and will examine 10 issues, including the response by emergency services and hospital staff, whether Tarrant had direct assistance from any other person and the cause of death for each of the deceased.
The inquiry is a legal process required by New Zealand law to examine unexpected deaths, and receives input from medical examiners, police officers, first responders and other witnesses to the death.
“A coronial inquiry is a collaborative process to establish the truth of what occurred, with a view to making findings and recommendations to prevent deaths in similar circumstances in the future,” the Coronial Services of New Zealand said on its website.
“It cannot impose penalties or award compensation.”
Tarrant is already serving a life sentence in prison
A Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2020 found that security agencies were almost exclusively focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before the massacre. A number of recommendations were made, and the government has been working to initiate them. REUTERS
