An inquest opened Tuesday in New Zealand into the murders of 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019.
The country’s largest-ever investigation by a coroner will examine several key issues, including the response from emergency services.
The gunman, Brenton Tarrant, opened fire at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center in the South Island city of Christchurch.
The long-awaited inquest aims to establish the full picture of the attacks and answer remaining questions: Could any of the victims have been saved with faster medical treatment? Did the attacker act alone? The coroner will also consider if the white supremacist gunman was radicalized online. The inquest has been delayed because of the amount of evidence that needed to be prepared.
Coroner Brigitte Windley will examine whether the emergency exit door in Al Noor Mosque's main prayer room "failed to function" during the mass shooting, trapping worshippers inside.
She said the inquest was not about establishing liability or negligence - but about accountability for actions that were taken at the time.
Part of Tarrant’s attack was livestreamed on Facebook. He’s serving a life sentence in prison without parole on 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and a terrorism offense.
Abdur Razzaq of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand told Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report program that the inquest was an opportunity for victims’ families to get the full story of the murders.
“It is a very significant day. It is also a very important day. It is important because for the first time we are able to ask questions," Razzaq said. "It is important to get all the details and also at a personal level as I have talked to a number of families, they are wanting to find out in detail what happened to their loved ones.”
The Christchurch mosque attacks resulted in changes to New Zealand’s firearms laws. Semi-automatic weapons were banned.
The murders were also the subject of a 2020 Royal Commission of Inquiry. It found New Zealand’s intelligence services were preoccupied by the threat of Islamist terrorism, and the police had failed to enforce proper checks on firearms licenses.
Many victims were migrants, including refugees from Syria, who went to New Zealand looking to escape conflict and violence.
The inquest is expected to last six weeks. It is being held at a time of heightened anxiety, with threats made against Muslim and Jewish communities in New Zealand because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
