The terrorist who perpetrated the horrific Christchurch mosque attacks last year has today had to face the surviving victims and the relatives of those who died in the attack.
Australian man Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, as well as one count of committing a terrorist attack in connection with the tragic Christchurch mosque shooting on March 15, 2019. The gunman killed 51 people and injured a further 49 in the attack, which was live-streamed on Facebook at the time.
As the judge begins to determine a sentence for the 29-year-old Australian man, more details regarding the attack have been brought to life, including multiple confronting impact statements.
According to The Washington Post, Tarrant didn’t react as survivors such as Temel Atacocugu recounted the day in court.
“The gunman and I looked into each other’s eyes … I was shot nine times,” Atacocugu told the court on Monday.
“I laid under bodies in the mosque, thinking I was going to die,” he recounted. “I tried to lie as still as possible when the gunman came back a second time. I could feel the blood and brains of the person above me running down my face and neck. I couldn’t move or make a sound, as the gunman would have executed me.”
Additionally, the mother of victim and star soccer player Atta Elayyan urged Tarrant to research her son’s name so he would truly “know the huge loss you caused.”
“I can’t forgive you,” she said in court on Monday. “You thought you could break us, you failed miserably.”
Abdul Aziz, the heroic man who fought off Tarrant at the Linwood Islamic Centre in an attempt to minimise further casualties referred to the gunman as cowardly in an interview with The Washington Post.
“He came and killed all the innocent women and children with a gun, but when his turn came [for a beating], he ran away like a coward,” he explained.
In addition to the 200+ victim impact statements, previously unreported details regarding the immediate aftermath and potential motive of the crime have been brought to light in court.
According to prosecutor Barnaby Hawes, Tarrant allegedly told investigators that he intended to burn down the mosques after the attack and wished he had killed more people. The court also heard that Tarrant allegedly confessed to police that the attack was ideologically motivated.
“[Tarrant] referred to his attacks as terror attacks, stated they were motivated by his ideological beliefs, and intended to instil fear in those he (referred to as) invaders,” crown solicitor Philip Hall told the court.
Hawes also revealed that Tarrant had studied the mosques’ layouts prior to the attack in order to maximise the deaths caused by his actions.
Monday was the first of a four-day sentencing hearing at Christchurch High Court, in which he will likely receive a life sentence.
