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Heroic fan tackles deadly shooter at victory parade

<p>Three people have been taken into custody after a deadly shooting at a Super Bowl victory parade, where one person has died. </p> <p>At least 21 people have suffered injuries, nine of which being children, at the parade in Kansas City, following the Kansas Chiefs victory over the San Francisco 49ers.</p> <p>As one of the shooters opened fire in the crowd, one heroic football fan was captured on video tackling the gunman to the ground. </p> <p>The video also shows panicked crowds fleeing the sounds of the gunfire, as police ran towards the commotion.</p> <p>Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed in a second update to media that one person had died after 22 people had been shot.</p> <p>“We have three persons detained and under investigation,” she said.</p> <p>“We are working to determine if one of the three is the one that was in that video where fans assisted police.”</p> <p>She added that “right now we do not have a motive, but we are asking those who may potentially have any kind of information, a witness or video, to contact police”.</p> <p>At an earlier briefing, Ms Graves said she was “angry at what happened today”.</p> <p>Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “The celebration was marred by a shooting. This is absolutely a tragedy.” </p> <p>Witness Kade Collins, who attending the parade with his dad, described the ordeal to local news station Fox 4 KC.</p> <p>“We heard 10 to 12 gunshots, but we thought they were fireworks, so we didn’t really panic at first or get too worked up. But then everyone started screaming and took off running,” Mr Collins said.</p> <p>Mr Collins said his dad saw police tackle a suspect after the crowd saw the gunman. </p> <p>“When we were walking out, there was someone pointing and saying, ‘He’s right there, he’s right there’, and police ran to the guy the crowd was pointing at and tackled him and put him in handcuffs,” he said. “Everyone took off running and screaming.”</p> <p>The Kansas City Chiefs said in a statement that all players, coaches, staff and their families were “safe and accounted for”, while sharing their condolences for those who were impacted by the shooting. </p> <p>“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said.</p> <p>"Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City ... We thank the local law enforcement officers and first responders who were on-scene to assist.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p>

Caring

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Farm shooter had gun ban revoked

<p dir="ltr">The farmer who allegedly shot at four family members killing three of them actually had his gun ban revoked. </p> <p dir="ltr">Darryl Young is accused of murdering three of his neighbours following a dispute of boundary lines on their land in Bogie, near Collinsville in Queensland. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, court documents have revealed that the 59-year-old had his gun ban revoked almost a decade ago after a successful appeal saying he needed it for his “business”.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Young was granted his gun licence in 1992, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/for-my-business-alleged-farm-massacre-culprit-darryl-youngs-prior-police-stoush-over-gun-licence-revealed/news-story/5d29e6d9f1922a2d4009f8d17eb60ea1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">Young was allowed to hold four rifles and two shotguns with his licence. </p> <p dir="ltr">Then in 2010, Young went to renew his licence but Queensland Police refused on the basis that it was “not in the public interest”. </p> <p dir="ltr">In his response to the refusal, Young explained that he needed the licence to control the feral animals on his farm.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There is no were (sic) in the laws of the gun laws that I have broken to stop me having a gun licence,” his application read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I need my gun licence for my business. I hope the Tribunal over turns (sic) the decision so I can have my licence.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The tribunal accepted Young’s explanation which saw him get his licence again. </p> <p dir="ltr">Last week, in matters unrelated, Young was <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/man-accused-of-shooting-family-of-four-identified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged with the murder</a> of his neighbours Mervyn, 71, Maree Schwarz, 59, and their son Graham Tighe, 35, following a dispute of boundary lines on their land in Bogie near Collinsville in Queensland.</p> <p dir="ltr">He was also charged with one count of attempted murder after Mervyn and Maree’s other son Ross Tighe survived following a gunshot wound to the abdomen.</p> <p dir="ltr">Police will allege Young invited the three members to the edge of his property on August 4 before shooting them “execution style”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Young allegedly shot at Ross who managed to escape the farm in a ute and alert police to the horrific attack against his family.</p> <p dir="ltr">Police charged Young with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and he appeared briefly at Proserpine Magistrates Court on Monday with his lawyer asking for the case to be transferred. </p> <p dir="ltr">Young was reprimanded in custody and will reappear in court on November 1.</p> <p dir="ltr">Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt said it was incredible Ross was able to survive due to the properties being so far apart.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s actually a 45-minute drive between the neighbours,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“At the crime scene, which is at the front gate of one of the premises, it is a 3km drive between the gate and the house at that location.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: 7News</em></p>

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Targeting shooters: technology that can isolate the location of gunshots

<p>Inexpensive microphone arrays deployed in urban settings can be used to pinpoint the location of gunshots and help police respond instantly to the scene of crimes, scientists say.</p> <p>The process works by recognising that a gunshot produces two distinct sounds: the muzzle blast, and the supersonic shockwave that follows it. Luisa Still of Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Germany, told a meeting of the <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Acoustical Society of America in Denver, Colorado</a>, this week that by using those two signals – in a process akin to that by which seismologists track seismic waves from earthquakes – police departments armed with the right equipment could pinpoint the location of the shot within seconds.</p> <p>It’s not as straightforward as it sounds. In an urban environment, buildings and other structures can reflect, refract or absorb sound waves, causing the sounds of the shot to come at the microphones from any number of directions.</p> <p>But it turns out, Still says, that it only takes two such sensor arrays to locate the source of a gunshot — and a good computer can do so very quickly.</p> <p>In tests, her team began on a rifle range, where they confirmed that a pair of such microphone arrays could indeed determine the location of the shooter to a high degree of accuracy.</p> <p>They then moved to an urban environment, where they repeated the experiment, though in this case the shooter was replaced with a propane gas cannon of the type used by farmers to scare away crop-eating birds.</p> <p>Again, two microphone arrays were all that were needed to zero in on the source of the “shot”.</p> <p>Not that this can work anywhere, any time. Still’s signal-location algorithms require maps of the surrounding buildings, the walls of which might affect the sound and, in extreme cases, create “blind spots” if microphone arrays aren’t properly deployed.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p192812-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.61 resetting spai-bg-prepared" action="/technology/technology-isolate-location-gunshots/#wpcf7-f6-p192812-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="resetting"> <p style="display: none !important;"><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap referer-page"><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page spai-bg-prepared" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/technology-isolate-location-gunshots/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/technology-isolate-location-gunshots/" aria-invalid="false" /></span></p> <p><!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></form> </div> </div> <p>She also notes that research is ongoing as to whether it is better to put microphones at ground level or atop neighbouring buildings. There’s also continuing research around how many might be needed in complex urban cores, where there are a lot of buildings of varying height and echo patterns can become very convoluted. “We still need to evaluate [that],” she says.</p> <p>There’s also the need to weed out noises that sound like gunshots, such as firecrackers, car-engine backfires and anything else that makes a sudden bang. “We are working on classification methods,” Still says, noting that these involve computerised “deep learning” methods that can be trained to distinguish such sounds.</p> <p>Could similar sensors be deployed within a school building in order to locate a school shooter even more quickly that is currently possible? Still was asked. </p> <p>“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I think that would be applicable.” Though she noted that it might also be acoustically “very challenging” to put into practice.</p> <p>Later that same day, 19 school children and two adults were killed in Uvalde, Texas, in America’s worst grade-school shooting in nearly a decade.  </p> <p>Would the death toll have been lower if gunshot sensors such as Still’s were widely deployed? Who knows? But it was one of the most stunningly prescient scientific presentations imaginable, because she spoke less than an hour before the Uvalde gunman opened fire. It was far too late for her research to be able to deflect the tragedy that was about to unfold, but close enough to it to underscore the urgency of what she was doing.</p> <p><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=192812&amp;title=Targeting+shooters%3A+technology+that+can+isolate+the+location+of+gunshots" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><!-- End of tracking content syndication --></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/technology-isolate-location-gunshots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/richard-a-lovett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard A Lovett</a>. Richard A Lovett is a Portland, Oregon-based science writer and science fiction author. He is a frequent contributor to Cosmos.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

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Gunman on the loose after NYC subway shooting

<p dir="ltr">A manhunt is underway after a gunman opened fire at innocent people on the subway in New York on Tuesday morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">The gunman wore a gas mask and a construction vest before setting off a smoke canister during peak hour and injuring at least 29 people at 8.30am.</p> <p dir="ltr">Witnesses said smoke filled the train in between stations before trails of blood were seen on the floor. </p> <p dir="ltr">The man then began shooting and injured 29 people who were all treated at hospitals for gunshot wounds, smoke inhalation and other conditions.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s believed the shooter escaped the scene on foot and is described as a 165cm man with a heavy build wearing a green construction vest and a grey hooded sweatshirt.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This individual is still on the loose,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This person is dangerous.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Very dramatic video from the incident as the subway arrived at 36th St Sunset Park in Brooklyn. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/brooklyn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#brooklyn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shooting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nyc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nyc</a> <a href="https://t.co/5cOdeYPIb1">pic.twitter.com/5cOdeYPIb1</a></p> <p>— Kristoffer Kumm (@Kristofferkumm) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kristofferkumm/status/1513883003453333513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">NOW - Multiple people shot at New York City subway station. Several "undetonated devices" found. Trains halted. </p> <p>Suspect is wearing a gas mask and is on the run.<a href="https://t.co/2hWjvjUXI4">pic.twitter.com/2hWjvjUXI4</a></p> <p>— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) <a href="https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1513878331225219075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://t.co/AHqAhTAAA4">pic.twitter.com/AHqAhTAAA4</a></p> <p>— Will B. Wylde (@IXIXI_45) <a href="https://twitter.com/IXIXI_45/status/1513881708935974915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Its not just smoke, there were blood everywhere at 36st station and people hurt. What happened!? <a href="https://t.co/rNeS119l2i">pic.twitter.com/rNeS119l2i</a></p> <p>— Ary (@CarbMeCrazy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarbMeCrazy/status/1513860831322284033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I was on the cart of the train with said smoke and explosions. A lot of blood on the floor, this was the only video I can get of the chaos. Sounded like fireworks, I couldn’t tell if it was gunshots, but the smoke made it hard to see anything. <a href="https://t.co/duJjI8RHuY">pic.twitter.com/duJjI8RHuY</a></p> <p>— Yav (@whoisyav) <a href="https://twitter.com/whoisyav/status/1513865431928475648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://t.co/tje7V0OVHf">pic.twitter.com/tje7V0OVHf</a></p> <p>— Will B. Wylde (@IXIXI_45) <a href="https://twitter.com/IXIXI_45/status/1513882170405830666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">My neighborhood in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brooklyn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brooklyn</a> being turned inside out looking for a perp. Poor Pinkman (our doggo) is freaking out. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunsetPark?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunsetPark</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shooting</a> <a href="https://t.co/q0jINMULuZ">pic.twitter.com/q0jINMULuZ</a></p> <p>— Eamon Loingsigh (@eamonLoi) <a href="https://twitter.com/eamonLoi/status/1513882019494834183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The FBI is working with the New York Police Department (NYPD) as they follow “every viable lead”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The suspect was in the train car, the shooting began in the train car,” NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As the train was pulling into the station, the subject put on a gas mask.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He then opened a canister that was in his bag and then the car began to fill with smoke.</p> <p dir="ltr">“After that he began shooting.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Emergency services rushed to the scene and assisted people, with a gun being uncovered on site. It remains unclear if it’s the same weapon used by the shooter.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sewell said the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism as authorities are not ruling anything out.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

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Bizarre letter from mother of accused high school shooter emerges

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A bizarre open letter written by a US woman to former President Donald Trump has been uncovered after her son was accused of shooting up a Michigan high school.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jennifer Crawley posted the letter to her blog on November 11, 2016, and blamed illegal immigrants and Common Core educational standards for her son’s struggles with maths at school.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ethan, now 15, has been charged as an adult for a shooting at Oxford High School on November 30 which resulted in the deaths of four teenagers and many others injured.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In her five-year-old letter, Jennifer thanked the former president for “allowing my right to bear arms” and praised him for being “one of the most successful Business Men in my history”.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:411.123227917121px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846104/trump-letter.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/09cb9a252a964a6ebbdbc9ef8eb34001" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: web.archive.org</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She then asked the then president-elect to end Common Core, a set of educational standards for school students in English literacy and mathematics.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You see Mr Trump, I need you to stop common core,” she wrote. “My son struggles daily, and my teachers tell me they hate teaching it but they HAVE to. Their pay depends on these stupid f***ing test scores.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have to pay for a tutor, why?” she continued. “Because I can’t figure out 4th grade math.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jennifer added that she couldn’t afford a tutor for her son and “in fact, I sacrifice car insurance to make sure my son gets a good education and hopefully succeeds in life.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She went on to complain about “illegal immigrant parents” whose children attend school where her mother teaches.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Most of their parents are locked up. They don’t care about learning and threaten to kill my mom for caring about their grades.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Do you realize Mr Trump that they get free tutors, free tablets from our government so they can succeed? Why can’t my son get those things, do we as hard working Americans not deserve that too?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After detailing her family’s struggles accessing healthcare, Jennifer ended the letter by writing, “Mr Trump, this is why I voted for you.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I see the change that we so desperately need. I see jobs coming back, people having to work for their handouts, money going to [those] who really deserve it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I believe YOU are the president who will make these things happen.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have NEVER had this much belief in one person, and you are it.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She signed the lengthy letter as “A hardworking Middle Class Law Abiding Citizen who is sick of getting f***ed in the a** and would rather be grabbed by the p****,” in reference to Trump’s now infamous line about being famous.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The letter was later shared to Facebook by Jennifer’s husband, James, according to </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/4190727/ethan-crumbley-mom-letter-trump-school-shooting/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sun</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with the comment: “My wife can be spot on. Sometimes.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The blog has been deleted since the shooting. A copy of the blog post has been preserved on the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211201040018/https://justagirlgoignthroughthisworld.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/dear-mr-trump/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wayback Machine</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> website.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple have been silent as their son faces charges over the fatal shooting.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After more than 100 calls were made to 911 on Tuesday, deputies rushed to the school and arrested the gunman within minutes of arriving.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Authorities claim Ethan fired 30 rounds at the school, emptying two 15-round magazines. A third was found at the scene, and he reportedly had more in his pockets.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Videos posted to social media also appear to show the 15-year-old impersonating a police officer in order to convince students to emerge from hiding.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sheriff’s office,” the boy says in the clip. “You can come out.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The teacher responds saying: “We’re not taking that risk.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the gunman shouts back something inaudible, he called his classmates “bro”, in a moment that made the hidden students realise the person speaking had been the shooter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three students died during the shooting, and a fourth succumbed to his injuries the following morning.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846102/ethan-shooting1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/5074787100c9424b9264f95b865b0a11" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police parked outside Oxford High School following the shooting. Image: Getty Images</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prosecutors </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10268829/The-mom-accused-Oxford-High-School-shooter-penned-letter-revealing-sons-struggles.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> they would charge him as an adult so he could be convicted and sentenced to life in prison, as Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said there was a “mountain” of evidence against him at a press conference.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was also revealed that the teen had detailed how he wanted to shoot students at the school in a journal found inside his backpack, and that he had recorded a video saying he was planning to attack the school the night before.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the days before the incident, Ethan posted about his father’s new Sig Sauer 9mm handgun on social media and pretended it was his.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Just got my new beauty today. SIG Sauer 9MM. Ask any questions and I will answer,” he wrote in a post last week.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Instagram account it appeared on has since been deleted, and fake accounts began circulating online while he was in police custody.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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New Zealand mosque gunman sentencing begins

<p>The sentencing of an Australian white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand and live-streamed the massacre on Facebook is set to begin on Monday.</p> <p>Tight security is around a court in Christchurch, where Brenton Tarrant, the shooter, will hear statements from 66 survivors.</p> <p>The court building was sealed off with large orange barriers as armed police stood guard.</p> <p>Lawyers expect Tarrant to be the first person to be jailed for life without parole in New Zealand.</p> <p>The hearing is set for four days with survivors and Tarrant making submissions before High Court judge Cameron Mander announces his sentence.</p> <p>Tarrant is representing himself and is reportedly being held in a cell deep within the court complex to avoid transporting him to and from jail.</p> <p>On March 15th, 2019, he armed himself with a semi-automatic rifle and stormed into two mosques and opened fire on worshippers at Friday prayer.</p> <p>He was quickly arrested and initially pleaded not guilty to 41 murders, 40 attempted murders and committing a terrorist act.</p> <p>In March 2020, he changed his plea to not guilty.</p> <p>Prominent Christchurch lawyer Nigel Hampton said the "terrifying" crime probably "needs an extraordinary sentence", while law professor Chris Gallavin said "he'll never see the light of day again". </p> <p>Judge Mander has said the sentencing process was important for the victims, and "finality and closure is considered by some as the best means of bringing relief to the Muslim community". </p> <p>Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that this week would be difficult for many.</p> <p>"I don't think there's anything I can say that is going to ease how traumatic that period is going to be," she told reporters. </p> <p>Increased police will be around the courthouse and victim support workers will also be present. Local mental health specialists will also be on standby for referrals. </p>

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Christchurch shooter pleads not guilty to 51 charges of murder

<p>Christchurch mosque terror attacker Brenton Tarrant has denied being the attacker and has entered a not guilty plea during a short appearance at the High Court in Christchurch, New Zealand, this morning.</p> <p>As he announced his plea via his lawyer, gasps were heard in the courtroom according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/world/pacific/nz-mosque-shooting-accused-to-face-court/news-story/3b53935379a34f4e5e84ab49ed01c316" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>.</p> <p>Tarrant has pled not guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one terrorism offence over the Christchurch shootings. This is a total of 92 charges in total.</p> <p>The terror charge laid against him last month will be the first prosecution of its kind in New Zealand and some legal experts say that it could lead to a complex trial, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/christchurch-massacre-accused-brenton-tarrant-pleads-not-guilty-222352860.html" target="_blank"><em>Yahoo! News</em></a>.</p> <p><span>Tarrant wore a grey sweatshirt and strained to hear discussions via the audio-visual link from Paremoremo Prison in Auckland. That prison is currently New Zealand’s only maximum-security prison.</span></p> <p>Prison staff have confirmed that Tarrant has no access to television, radio, newspapers or visitors.</p> <p>The courtroom was filled with survivors and family members of the 51 killed during the March 15 attack at two Christchurch mosques.</p> <p>Two further courts and 200 seats were set aside for the public, who watched the court proceedings via audio-visual link as the main courtroom was full. Police maintained a heavy presence throughout the building.</p> <p>All of the victims kept their eyes glued to the gunman throughout the hearing.</p> <p>Tarrant’s case will return to court on August 16.   </p> <p>Amid concerns his trial can be used to further incite hatred and expose far-right extremist views, New Zealand’s major media organisations have agreed to self-imposed restrictions on reporting.</p> <p>Justice Cameron Mander has also declined all media requests to film or photograph proceedings in court, in the interest of preserving the integrity of the trial process and ensure a fair trial for Tarrant.</p>

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Shooter takes home third gold for Australia

<p>Catherine Skinner has become Australia’s third gold medallist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics Games, after winning the women’s trap shooting competition this morning.</p> <p>After a spectacular shooting display to get into medal contention, Skinner was on target in a tense final, beating New Zealand’s Natalie Rooney with a score of 12-11. Amazingly, this is the first victory at an international event for the 26-year-old from Mansfield.  </p> <p>"Really, you've just got to keep going for it because it's not uncommon for people to fall to pieces at the end," Skinner said. “I’ve had plenty of moments when I’ve missed the first shot and it’s sort of just gone down from there,”</p> <p>“But you learn from your experiences. I’ve had some shockers and I’ve had some good ones and at the end of the day it’s paid off.”</p> <p>This is the first Olympics Skinner has taken a part with, and reports suggest her secret to success is a serve of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream she eats before all competitions.</p> <p>“Today I was more in control. It also helped that I was getting a bit frustrated with the targets not coming up for me,” Skinner added. “It made me a bit more angry so instead of being nervous ... I just wanted to see those little targets smash.”</p> <p>This is Australia’s third gold medal at the Olympic Games, after Mack Holden won the men’s 400m freestyle and Australia took out gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay.</p> <p>Congratulations Catherine! Leave any messages of support in the comments. </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/08/the-most-spectacular-costumes-from-past-olympics/"><strong>The most magnificent costumes from past Olympics opening ceremonies</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/08/us-basketball-team-charters-luxury-cruise-ship-for-rio/"><strong>US basketball team charters luxury cruise ship for Rio</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/08/princess-mary-and-prince-frederik-touch-down-in-rio/"><strong>Princess Mary and Prince Frederik touch down in Rio</strong></a></em></span></p>

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