Mar 17, 2019
New Zealand mosque shooting suspect visited Israel in 2016
People pay their respects at a memorial for the Christchurch mosque shootings. Photo: Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Brenton Tarrant, the alleged perpetrator of the Christchurch mosques massacre, visited Israel on October 25, 2016, and left 9 days later, two Israeli officials told me.
Why it matters: It's unclear what brought Tarrant to Israel, and officials told me he didn't raise any suspicions when he entered the country. He arrived as part of a trip in the region that also included Turkey. The Israeli security services will have to investigate what Tarrant did in Israel and who he met before further details are released.