New Zealand shooting suspect Brenton Tarrant yelled ‘I’m a soldier’ at cops arresting him in Christchurch street
TERRORIST Brenton Tarrant yelled “I’m a soldier” at cops after his arrest, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Remorseless mass murderer Tarrant, 28, also claimed his horrific mosque attacks were a “necessity”.
Authorities believe the Australian extremist will plead not guilty at his murder trial so he can spout his hateful ideology.
The handcuffed former fitness trainer smirked at his first court appearance yesterday, and also appeared to give a “white power” salute. A New Zealand police source said cops were left stunned by his sickening attitude after his arrest in Christchurch on Friday.
They said: “Tarrant kept saying he was ‘a soldier’. He was telling officers he was innocent and saying he was just a soldier in a war. He also said the attacks were a tactical necessity.”
Tarrant, who visited Pakistan last year, sent a 74-page “manifesto” outlining his twisted beliefs to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern 10 minutes before the attacks.
MEMBER OF PUBLIC THREATENED TO ‘KNIFE’ TARRANT
Tarrant’s gun was daubed with the names of notorious right-wingers. After his arrest he made repeated references to Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 and injured 319 in 2011.
The source claimed far-right maniac Breivik appeared to be Tarrant’s “hero”, adding: “He said he was innocent like him.”
His teacher mum Sharon and sister Lauren were last night being quizzed by cops at a secure location in Brisbane. His dad Rodney died at 49 from an asbestos-related illness in Grafton, New South Wales.
A source in Grafton told us: “Brenton left Oz in 2010 but he returned at least twice a year. Investigators want to know everything he did when he was back.”
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A member of the public threatened to “knife” Tarrant yesterday but was stopped from entering the court building by cops.
Tarrant, of Dunedin, was remanded in custody without plea at Christchurch District Court and will appear again on April 5.
Daniel Burrough, 18, arrested after the attacks, was also charged with “exciting hostility or ill-will”.
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