Gun club where mosque killer Brenton Tarrant 'trained in the lead-up to the mosque massacre' SHUTS DOWN - as president says shooter had 'beefed up'
- Club vice-president Scott Williams told Daily Mail Australia the club has closed
- 'Gunman' Tarrant, 28, was a regular member of the club and had his own key
- The club was closed down 'for the forseeable future' on Monday after shootings
- Williams didn't feel it was 'appropriate to be open' out of respect to the victims
The gun club where accused Australian right-wing terrorist Brenton Tarrant allegedly trained in the lead-up to the Christchurch massacre has closed down.
Bruce Rifle Club vice-president Scott Williams told Daily Mail Australia the venue had closed following the tragedy that saw 50 shot dead as they prayed inside two Christchurch mosques as a mark of respect to the victims.
'We didn't feel it was appropriate to be open as a mark of respect for victims of the tragedy,' he said.
Mr Williams said members of the club had been 'shocked, stunned and saddened' to hear details of the horrific crime.
On Sunday, metal fences with two locks blocked off every entrance to the forest where the rifle club is (pictured), and the area was being watched by police
Bruce Rifle Club vice-president Scott Williams told Daily Mail Australia the venue had closed following the tragedy that saw 50 shot dead as they prayed inside a mosque
'Myself and a few of the members have been trying to think back, to see if there was anything that should have made us think twice about this guy, but there wasn't anything,' Mr Williams said.
Membership to the Bruce Rifle Club was 'heavily dependent' on firearm safety - and shooters needed three club meetings to prove they met the expected standards.
'Our focus has always been on firearms safety, we don't want any accidents to happen - that would be the main criteria we assess people on,' he said.
'We don't usually think, 'oh well we should ask this guy if he's a white supremacist' or anything.'
Mr Williams, who works for a security firm, said Tarrant had been 'polite and well spoken', and nobody had ever raised a complaint about him.
'I don't know anything else about him. I would speak to him about Bruce Rifle club, but I didn't know anything about his life outside of that,' he said.
He said the Australian-born gunman had 'beefed up' before his alleged attack.
It's believed that Tarrant regularly attended the Bruce Rifle Club and had his own key to access the premises
The club president said Tarrant had been 'polite and well spoken', and nobody had ever raised a complaint about him
'He looked musclier than before,' he said. 'I couldn't tell you how long he'd taken to do it… there might have been a big gap between when I had seen him last, but I remember he looked a lot bigger than the last time I saw him.'
Members have their own key to the range, but were sent a letter on Saturday advising them to stay away.
'We aren't going anywhere near the place,' Mr Williams said.
'We sent out a letter to members on Saturday telling them the club would be closed for the foreseeable future, thanks for your understanding.'
On Sunday, metal fences with two locks blocked off every entrance to the forest where the rifle club is, and the area was being watched by police.
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