Prime suspect in New Zealand terror attack appears in court

At least 49 people were killed and more than 40 people are being treated for injuries after at least one shooter opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, according to New Zealand police. The primary suspect the Friday’s deadly shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, appeared in court on Saturday. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, smirked to the cameras and made a white power gesture from the dock. Authorities have two more suspects in custody.

According to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, investigators at the scene of the shootings that left 49 dead found five guns allegedly used by the primary suspect: Two semi-automatic weapons, two shotguns and a lever-action firearm. Nour Tavis said he was in the front row of the Al Noor Mosque in Deans Ave with his friend when the shooting started. At first they did not know what the noise was.

"Then we heard screaming ... everyone panicked," he said. "There was shooting and shooting and shooting ... people were running and all of a sudden you saw them fall." Ardern described the attack as one of her country's "darkest days." She said that the suspects held "extremist views" that have no place in New Zealand or anywhere else in the world.