[38][40] Tarrant's parents separated when he was young: this, along with other events including the loss of his family home in a fire and the death of his grandfather, led him to be traumatised and to start suffering from social anxiety.

[49] During the planning stages of his attack he made a donation of $106.68 to Rebel Media, a site that featured both Sellner and several articles espousing "white genocide" and "Great Replacement" conspiracy theories.

[56] Throughout his residence in Dunedin, Tarrant was unemployed, funding his living expenses and preparations for the terrorist attack using the money he received from his father and income from investments, including a rental property he and his sister had purchased in January 2017.

When asked, he gave no concrete indication of his future plans once his funds were depleted, beyond mentioning to his sister the possibility of suicide and later telling family members and gaming friends that he intended to move to Ukraine.

[58] Captivated with sites of battles between Christian European nations and the Ottoman Empire, Tarrant went on another series of visits to the Balkans from 2016 to 2018, with Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, and Bosnia-Herzegovina confirming his presence there in these years.

[59][60] He posted Balkan nationalist material on social media platforms[61] and called for the United States to be weakened to prevent what he perceived as NATO intervention in support of Muslims (Albanians) against Christians (Serbs).

[64] In 2016, three years prior to the attacks, Tarrant praised Blair Cottrell as a leader of the far-right movements in Australia and made more than 30 comments on the now-deleted "United Patriots Front" and "True Blue Crew" webpages.

An Australian Broadcasting Corporation team who studied the comments called them "fragments and digital impressions of a well-travelled young man who frequented hate-filled anonymous messaging boards and was deeply engaged in a global alt-right culture.

'Turk-eater';[87] this was the nickname of the revolutionary Nikitas Stamatelopoulos during his battles in the Greek War of Independence[88]), and white supremacist slogans such as the anti-Muslim phrase "Remove Kebab" (which originated from Serbia) and the number "14", a reference to Fourteen Words.

[103] In the manifesto, several anti-immigrant sentiments are expressed, including hate speech against migrants, white supremacist rhetoric, and calls for all non-European immigrants in Europe whom he claimed to be "invading his land" to be removed.

[109] The author praises Donald Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose"[110] and cites Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, Dylann Roof and others as an inspiration.

[121] Additionally, the shooter also called for the killing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

[171][172] The Crown prosecutors demonstrated to the court how Tarrant had meticulously planned the two shootings and more attacks,[173][174] while numerous survivors and their relatives gave victim impact statements, which were covered by national and international media.

[185] In early November 2021, Tarrant's new lawyer Tony Ellis stated that his client intended to appeal against his sentence and conviction, claiming that his guilty plea had been obtained under duress and that his conditions while on remand breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

His lawyer Todd Simmonds asked Judge Venning to exclude journalists and members of the media from the proceedings, claiming that any publicity on the matter would cause "undue humiliation and embarrassment".

For example, The Australian published an audio excerpt containing cries for help, and The Herald Sun wrote dramatic descriptions of victims being shot and used poetic devices to create more vivid imagery.

[update][240] Prime Minister Ardern reiterated that those injured or killed in the shootings and their immediate families are covered by the country's accident-compensation scheme, ACC, which offers compensation for lost income and a $10,000 funeral grant, among other benefits.

[241][242] In late June, it was reported that the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh had raised more than NZ$967,500 (US$650,000) through its New Zealand Islamophobia Attack Fund for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

[279][280] On 14 May 2022, white supremacist shooter Payton Gendron killed ten people and injured three others at a Tops Friendly Markets grocery store in Buffalo, New York, targeting African Americans.

[311] In a Facebook post, singer Arthur Brown expressed "horror and sadness" at the use of his song during the attacks, and cancelled a planned instore appearance at Waterloo Records shortly after the shootings out of respect for the victims.

[313] The first shooting, starting from the drive to the Al Noor Mosque and ending on the way to the Linwood Islamic Centre was live-streamed on Facebook Live using Tarrant's head-mounted GoPro camera.

[350] The French Council of the Muslim Faith filed a lawsuit against Facebook and YouTube, accusing the companies of "broadcasting a message with violent content abetting terrorism, or of a nature likely to seriously violate human dignity and liable to be seen by a minor".

Though it acknowledged there were no signs an attack in New Zealand was imminent at the time, it highlighted failures by the police system to properly vet gun purchases, as well as the country's intelligence services' strong focus on Islamic extremism at the expense of other potential threats such as white supremacy.

She also confirmed that the Government would not progress the eight remaining recommendations including creating a new national intelligence and security agency, establishing an advisory group on counter-terrorism, developing public alert system for reporting suspicious behaviours and incidents, instituting mandatory reporting of firearms injuries, directing the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and other relevant agencies to consult with the families of survivors on restorative justice processes, and amending the Crimes Act 1961 to criminalise inciting religious or racial disharmony.

[377] In line with one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019, the New Zealand Government held a hui (social gathering) called "He Whenua Taurikura, a country at peace" on 15–16 June 2021 to discuss countering terrorism and violent extremism.

The hui's stated aims are "to develop options for the National Centre of Excellence, which will focus on generating research and public discussion to prevent and counter violent extremism, understand diversity and promote social cohesion.

"[378][379] On 15 June, several Muslim delegates chanted "Free Palestine" and staged a walk-out at the He Whenua Taurikura after New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses criticised Hezbollah and Hamas as terror organisations while discussing a pro-Hezbollah rally in Auckland in 2018.

[391] In line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand Government formally created the "Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism" in early June 2022.

[414][415] On 6 July 2022, Governor-General Cindy Kiro awarded the New Zealand Cross to Linwood Mosque survivor Abdul Aziz and the late Naeem Rashid for confronting Tarrant.

In addition, Kiro awarded the New Zealand Bravery Decoration to Senior Constables Scott Carmody and Jim Manning for apprehending the terrorist; and Liam Beale and Wayne Maley for helping survivors of the Al Noor mosque.