'You thought you can break us. You failed miserably:' Court hears from families of New Zealand mosque gunman
Survivors and family members of some of those killed by a white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques at times wept as they spoke during the shooter's sentencing hearing in Christchurch on Monday.
The hearing gave some families and survivors their first chance to confront the gunman.
"Losing my beloved son is like feeling the pain of labor in my womb again and again. It is like losing a big part of me forever every time I look in the eyes of his daughter (whom) you (Tarrant) left fatherless at the age of 2, his wife you widowed, his sister, his brother, his dad," said a tearful Maysoon Salama, the mother of 33-year-old Atta Elayyan, who was killed in the attacks."You killed your own humanity, and I don't think the world will forgive you for your horrible crime,"
"You thought you can break us. You failed miserably," she added.
New details about the March 2019 attacks were outlined during the first day of a four-day sentencing hearing at the Christchurch High Court including how the gunman, 29-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, planned to burn down the mosques after he finished shooting.Tarrant, 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.
He could become the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Tarrant was brought into the courtroom shackled and wearing a grey 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.Mohammed Atta Ahmad Alayan, father of Atta Elayyan, who was killed in the attacks told the court: "Burying one dead friend is heartbreaking. How about burying a one-of-a-kind? The one of a kind is my son, Atta, and 49 brothers and sisters in (inaudible). No words can describe what my heart was experiencing at that time and is still experiencing. It is only the gracious Allah that keeps me going."
Aya al Umari - Victim Hussein Al-Umari's Sister said: "My best friend was executed in cold-blooded murder out of hatred. I still have the urge to pick up the phone and talk to my brother, tell him about my day and rant to him as he was the only one who would understand. But now that you've killed him, I've turned to God and that's made my faith in Islam even stronger. Thank you."
Janna Ezat, Victim Hussein Al-Umari's Mother told Tarrant that she forgave her son's killer.
"He used to give me flowers for my birthday but instead I got his body. I decided to forgive you Mr. Tarrant because I don't have hate, I don't have revenge, and in our Muslim faith we say (speaks Arabic). It means that if we are able to forgive, forgive. I forgive you. The damage was done and Hussein will never be here, so I only have one choice (which) is to forgive you," she said.
The hearing began with prosecutors outlining the attacks in a 26-page summary of facts, the first detailed account by authorities about what happened that day.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said that two months before the attacks, Tarrant flew a drone directly over the Al Noor mosque, recording an aerial view of the grounds and buildings and taking note of the entry and exit doors.
Mr Hawes said the gunman planned his attacks for when the maximum number of worshippers were present, and that 190 people were in the Al Noor mosque for Friday prayers on the day of the attacks.
In his car, the gunman had six guns — two AR-15 rifles, two other rifles, and two shotguns, the court heard.
He also brought with him four modified gas containers which he planned to use to burn down the mosques after he finished shooting, Mr Hawes said.
The gunman later told police he wished he had used them.
Mr Hawes also detailed the bravery of Naeem Rashid, who was killed at the Al Noor mosque.
“He ran at the defendant from the southeastern corner of the room.
"When Mr Rashid was approximately one metre from the defendant, the defendant swung the AR-15 around and fired four shots at point-blank range,” Mr Hawes said.
“Mr Rashid crashed into the defendant and the defendant went down on one knee,” Mr Hawes said, adding that Tarrant was able to get back up and shoot Mr Rashid again.
At the second mosque, Abdul Aziz chased Tarrant down the driveway screaming at him, prosecutors said, and threw a discarded rifle at his car, shattering a glass panel. Mr Aziz was not injured.
Tarrant has dismissed his lawyers and is representing himself during the sentencing, raising fears he could try to use the occasion as a platform to promote his racist views.
He can choose to speak once the survivors have spoken, although the judge will likely shut down any attempts he makes to grandstand.
New Zealand abolished the death penalty for murder in 1961, and the longest sentence imposed since then has been life imprisonment with a minimum 30-year non-parole period.
Justice Cameron Mander will decide on the gunman’s sentence at the end of the hearing.
The attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.
They also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, where it was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.
Prosecutors said that after Tarrant left the Linwood mosque he planned to drive to the town of Ashburton and attack a third mosque. But he was rammed by two police officers, dragged out of his car and arrested.
Gamal Founda, the imam of the Al Noor mosque who survived the shooting, told the court that the gunman’s actions were misguided.
“We are a peaceful and loving community who did not deserve your actions,” Mr Fouda said.
“Your hatred is unnecessary. If you have done anything, you have brought the world community closer with your evil actions.”