New Zealand police arrested a 19-year-old man over an “abhorrent” threat made during the week against one of the Christchurch mosques targeted in a mass shooting last year.
As New Zealand prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the massacre by a self-avowed white supremacist that killed 51 Muslim worshippers, police condemned the threat and increased patrols at two mosques that were attacked. The intimidating message made on an encrypted messaging app reportedly showed a man in a balaclava sitting in a car outside the Al Noor mosque accompanied by threatening text and a gun emoji. “This type of imagery has no place in Aotearoa New Zealand — it is abhorrent and will not be tolerated,” Canterbury police commander superintendent John Price said in a statement, referring to the country by both its Maori and English names.
What was the New Zealand Mosque Attack?
Two consecutive terrorist shooting attacks occurred at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday Prayer on 15 March 2019. The attacks began at the Al Noor Mosque in the suburb of Riccarton at 1:40 p.m. and continued at Linwood Islamic Centre at about 1:55 p.m. The gunman live-streamed the first attack on Facebook.
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