New Zealand gunman's family 'shattered' by his deeds
AFP | Updated: Mar 17, 2019, 17:57 ISTHighlights
- We're all gob-smacked, we don't know what to think: Brenton Tarrant's grandmother
- Tarrant grew up in the small town of Grafton and showed no signs he would later become enthralled with white nationalist ideology
- Tarrant's sister and mother have been placed under police guard
SYDNEY: The family of the Australian man arrested for
killing 50 worshippers at a mosque
+ in New Zealand said on Sunday they were stunned and "shattered" by his horrific deed.
"We're all gob-smacked, we don't know what to think," Brenton Tarrant's grandmother, Marie Fitzgerald, told Australia's Channel Nine network.
"It's just so much... to take in that somebody in our family could do anything like this," Fitzgerald said from her home in New South Wales state.
Tarrant grew up in the small town of Grafton and showed no signs he would later become enthralled with white nationalist ideology + while travelling in Europe and then turn that hatred into violence.
"It's only since he travelled overseas I think that the boy has changed, completely," she said, adding that as a teen, Tarrant was interested mainly in computer games.
He began travelling after his father died several years ago, and has been living in recent years in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin.
But he returned home a year ago for the birthday of his sister, and Fitzgerald said there were no signs he had undergone a transformation.
"He was just his normal self," she said.
Tarrant's sister and mother, who still live in the area, have been placed under police guard and even family members can't contact them, she said.
"The police will do their duty and keep them protected, which is what they need, and no phone contact, they've said you can't contact them," she said.
Tarrant's uncle, Terry Fitzgerald, said they learned of his role in the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch from the television.
"First up I said, 'No it couldn't be', but then I saw his photo," he said.
"Now everybody's just devastated... shattered, that's the word," added Marie Fitzgerald.
"We're all gob-smacked, we don't know what to think," Brenton Tarrant's grandmother, Marie Fitzgerald, told Australia's Channel Nine network.
"It's just so much... to take in that somebody in our family could do anything like this," Fitzgerald said from her home in New South Wales state.
Tarrant grew up in the small town of Grafton and showed no signs he would later become enthralled with white nationalist ideology + while travelling in Europe and then turn that hatred into violence.
7 from India killed in mosque massacre in New Zealand, say families
Four Indians — one from Hyderabad, a woman from Kerala and two from Gujarat—were among those killed in the Christchurch terror attack in New Zealand on Saturday, their families confirmed to TOI on Saturday. Three others of Indian origin who are confirmed dead, were from Gujarat and Telangana.
"It's only since he travelled overseas I think that the boy has changed, completely," she said, adding that as a teen, Tarrant was interested mainly in computer games.
He began travelling after his father died several years ago, and has been living in recent years in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin.
But he returned home a year ago for the birthday of his sister, and Fitzgerald said there were no signs he had undergone a transformation.
"He was just his normal self," she said.
Tarrant's sister and mother, who still live in the area, have been placed under police guard and even family members can't contact them, she said.
"The police will do their duty and keep them protected, which is what they need, and no phone contact, they've said you can't contact them," she said.
Tarrant's uncle, Terry Fitzgerald, said they learned of his role in the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch from the television.
"First up I said, 'No it couldn't be', but then I saw his photo," he said.
"Now everybody's just devastated... shattered, that's the word," added Marie Fitzgerald.
Download The Times of India News App for Latest World News.
All Comments ()+^ Back to Top
Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.
HIDE