Christchurch mosque shootings — terrorist mass shooting attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand
The deadliest mass shooting in modern New Zealand history, it prompted sweeping gun law reforms and a UN designation of March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Key Facts
- Date
- 15 March 2019
- People killed
- 51 people
- People injured
- 89 people
- Perpetrator
- Brenton Tarrant, Australian, aged 28 at time of attack
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment without parole — first in New Zealand history
- Locations attacked
- Al Noor Mosque, Riccarton; Linwood Islamic Centre
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The attack was driven by white nationalist ideology, anti-immigrant sentiment, and belief in the far-right 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory. Tarrant, who described himself as an ecofascist, was linked to a broader global rise in white supremacist and alt-right extremism observed since around 2015.
On 15 March 2019, Brenton Tarrant carried out two consecutive mass shootings during Friday prayers at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton at 1:40 p.m. and the Linwood Islamic Centre at 1:52 p.m. in Christchurch, New Zealand. He live-streamed the first attack on Facebook and had published a manifesto online beforehand. Fifty-one people were killed and 89 injured before police rammed his vehicle as he drove toward a third target.
New Zealand swiftly enacted gun law reforms and established a royal commission into its security agencies, which reported in late 2020. Tarrant received life imprisonment without parole, a first for New Zealand. The United Nations designated March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, and the attack inspired multiple copycat incidents globally due to its live-streamed nature.