The death toll from Friday’s terrorist attack on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch has been confirmed at 50.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the death toll was revised after all of the victims were removed from the mosques. He said number of injured was also 50. More than 30 of them remained in Christchurch Hospital.
A 28-year-old Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, was remanded in custody until 5th April after facing court in Christchurch on one count of murder on Saturday morning.
Of the other three arrests made on Friday, police said a woman was released without charge while a man was charged with firearms offences. Both of them had been arrested at a police cordon on Friday after going to assist children in the area “to get them to safety”, according to police. Another man was also arrested and will face court on Monday but he is not believed to have been involved in the attack.
EARLIER: Forty-nine people confirmed killed in terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand
Police said the process of formally identifying the bodies of those killed was ongoing. The victims are understood to include children with the New Zealand Herald reporting the youngest as being just two-years-old.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labelled the attack – the worst peacetime mass killing in the nation – one of New Zealand’s “darkest days”.
More than $NZ5 million has reportedly been donated to help victims.
