Accused mosque gunman appears ‘rational,’ will represent himself

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Australian charged with murder in the mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques plans to represent himself and appears “rational”, his court-appointed lawyer said Monday.

Brenton Tarrant was charged with one count of murder and appeared at Christchurch District Court on Saturday after the rampage during Friday prayers which left 50 people dead.

Duty lawyer Richard Peters, who represented him during the preliminary court hearing, told AFP the 28-year-old “indicated he does not want a lawyer”.

“He wants to be self-represented in this case,” said Peters, who played down suggestions that Tarrant may not be fit for trial.

“The way he presented was rational and someone who was not suffering any mental disability. That’s how he appeared. He seemed to understand what was going on,” Peters said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was holding a cabinet meeting Monday to address gun laws and intelligence failures, was among about 30 officials who received Tarrant’s manifesto document ahead of the attacks.

“It did not include a location, it did not include specific details,” she said, adding that it was sent nine minutes before the rampage and handed to security services within two minutes.

The country remained on high alert, with police on Sunday briefly closing an airport in the southern city of Dunedin — where Tarrant had lived — after an unidentified package was spotted on the airfield. The airport re-opened a few hours later.

In Australia, counter-terrorism police searched two homes early Monday, both near the town of Grafton where Tarrant grew up.

“The primary aim of the activity is to formally obtain material that may assist New Zealand police in their ongoing investigation,” a police statement said.

Ardern has said she would use the cabinet meeting to press for a ban on semi-automatic weapons of the type used by Tarrant. A series of reform attempts in recent years have failed.

Ardern also wants answers from social media giants over the livestreaming of the carnage.

Facebook said it had removed 1.5 million videos of the attack around the world in the first 24 hours.