Christchurch shooting: Gunman Tarrant wanted to kill 'as many as possible

The man who killed 51 people including three Fijians at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 had plans to target a third mosque.

This was revealed in his sentencing hearing today.

Brenton Tarrant also planned to burn down the mosques, wanting to "inflict as many fatalities as possible".

Asraf Ali, Imam Hafiz Musa Patel and another, Ashraf Ali who moved to New Zealand years ago passed away in the attacks.

Tarrant has pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 attempted murders and one charge of terrorism.

Tarrant faces life in prison, possibly without parole - a sentence never before imposed in New Zealand.

The attacks, parts of which the gunman streamed live online, sent shockwaves around the world and prompted New Zealand to make swift changes to its gun laws.

The hearing began this morning in Christchurch, the city where the white supremacist carried out the attacks in March 2019.

[Source: BBC]