No evidence to suggest there was more than one gunman in Christchurch shooting, police commissioner says

First responders help a man injured during a shooting in Christchurch.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Although three people were initially taken into custody, New Zealand Commissioner of Police Mike Bush said that at this stage there is no evidence that suggests there was more than one person involved in shootings, Radio New Zealand reported on Saturday.

Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian citizen, was charged with murder on Saturday following mass shootings at two mosques that killed 49 and left dozens more seriously wounded in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. Tarrant claimed responsibility for the attacks and posted links to a white-nationalist, anti-immigrant manifesto on social media, identifying himself as a racist. Tarrant appeared in court on Saturday and did not seek bail.

Per the Otago Daily Times, police were still trying to work out the "exact involvement" of a couple who were the only other two people still held in custody over the incident.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

An official list of names of the deceased has yet to be released, though some people have been identified, BBC reports. Many of the victims were reportedly migrants and refugees.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.