2023-10-24 09:09:20
Of the 51 people killed in shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, could any have been saved? This is the subject of an investigation opened by the prosecution on Tuesday. On March 15, 2019, Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, sentenced to life imprisonment in 2020 without possibility of release, used an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons to shoot down in cold blood worshipers attending Friday prayers in two mosques from Christchurch (southern New Zealand), broadcasting images of his attack live on social networks.
The 51 victims were all Muslims, including children, women and the elderly. Prosecutor Brigitte Windley, deputy chief prosecutor in Christchurch, said on Tuesday the inquiry would look “at what can be learned from this atrocity in an effort to protect lives” on behalf of those who lost theirs in the ‘attack.
Gray areas to clarify
Maha Galal, spokesperson for relatives of the victims, insisted on the “urgent need for answers”. “Our primary concern is to know the truth,” she said in a statement before the investigation opened. The families of the victims “are united in their quest for clarity on whether their loved ones could have survived,” Maha Galal added. “The search for truth is crucial to healing and grieving.”
The inquest will examine all events from the start of the shooting to Tarrant’s questioning by police, including the times when police and emergency services arrived at the scene. “One of the main questions is why our loved ones were left at the mosque without any immediate action for a while and the police did not allow us or anyone else to take them out” , underlined Maha Galal. “We trust the prosecutor’s process and our legal representation to answer these pressing questions and provide necessary clarification,” she said.
Other questions arise: Did anyone help Tarrant? Could a different medical intervention have saved lives? Was an emergency exit from one of the mosques closed at the time of the shooting? “We believe that there is much to learn from what happened on March 15, 2019, in order to prepare all of us, as a community, if such a tragedy occurs again,” stressed Maha Galal.
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