Families Confront Brenton Tarrant, Christchurch Mosque Gunman

CHRISTCHURCH, KOMPAS.com - Families and survivors of the Christchurch mosque attack had their first chance to confront the murderer, Brenton Tarrant, at his sentencing on Monday.

Australian Brenton Tarrant is undergoing a four-day sentencing hearing in which he is facing charges for killing 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques.

“You killed your own humanity, and I don’t think the world will forgive you for your horrible crime,” said a tearful Maysoon Salama, the mother of 33-year-old Atta Elayyan, who was killed in March 2019 attacks.

“You thought you can break us. You failed miserably.”

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The 29-year-old Australian murder suspect pleaded guilty in March to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of terrorism — the first terrorism conviction in New Zealand’s history.

If convicted, he could become New Zealand’s first criminal to have the toughest sentence available — life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Tarrant was brought into the Christchurch High Court shackled and wearing a gray prison outfit. In the dock, unshackled and surrounded by five officers, he showed little emotion throughout the hearing. He occasionally looked around the room, tapped his fingers, and watched the survivors as they spoke.

The courtroom was only half full due to coronavirus distancing requirements, while many others watched from adjacent courtrooms where the hearing was streamed.

Survivors and family members occasionally wept and comforted each other.

Two dozen victims and family members told the court about the pain of losing husbands, wives, sons, and brothers.

Some had family members around them for support, others spoke through translators or on pre-recorded videos from abroad.

One of those was grandmother Saira Patel, who spoke from Melbourne in Australia and described the moment she thought she would die in the Linwood mosque.

“I stretched both my arms toward my husband so we would die together,” she said.

But it was her husband of 36 years, Musa, who was shot in the back. When paramedics arrived, she said, they told her to push on the bullet hole to lessen the bleeding, but her hands kept slipping with all the blood.