New Zealand mosque shootings toll rises to 50, families wait to bury their dead

The bodies of the victims had not been released to families because investigations were going on, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said at a media conference in Wellington.

New Zealand terrorist attack, Christchurch mosque shooting, Christchurch terrorist attack, New Zealand, Christchurch, Christchurch gunman, Christchurch shooting gunman, Bangladesh cricket team, New Zealand shooting Indians — People comfort each other outside Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 17, 2019. (Reuters)

The death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings rose to 50 on Sunday when police found another body at one of the mosques, as families waited for authorities to formally identify victims and release their bodies for burial.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face more charges.

Friday’s attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labelled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country had raised its security threat level to the highest.

Footage of the attack on one of the mosques was broadcast live on Facebook, and a “manifesto” denouncing immigrants as “invaders” was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.

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Forty nine people killed in NZ shootings: police

At least 49 people were killed in shootings across two mosques in New Zealand on Friday, according to police, in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said was a terrorist attack.