New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern received Christchurch mosque shooter’s ‘manifesto’ 9 minutes before attack

“I was one of more than 30 recipients of the manifesto that was mailed out nine minutes before the attack took place,” Ardern told reporters on Sunday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her office received a “manifesto” from the gunman suspected of killing 50 people in two Christchurch mosques minutes before Friday’s attack.

Mourners lays flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 16, 2019. (AP photo)

“I was one of more than 30 recipients of the manifesto that was mailed out nine minutes before the attack took place,” Ardern told reporters on Sunday.

“It did not include a location, it did not include specific details,” she said, adding that it was sent to security services within two minutes of receipt.

A gunman had opened fire on Friday prayers at a mosque in New Zealand killing many worshippers and forcing the city of Christchurch into lockdown as police launched a massive manhunt. New Zealand Police said death toll has increased to 50.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said that the gunman was a citizen of his country. He also called the shooter an “extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist”

“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had said. “Clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” she added.