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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern got gunman's manifesto 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,' New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said

New Zealand mosque shooting

In this photo released by New Zealand Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, center, meets representatives of the Muslim community, Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Canterbury Refugee Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo: AP/PTI

AFP | PTI Christchurch

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.

"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. Ardern said she had read "elements" of the lengthy, meandering and conspiracy-filled far-right "manifesto".

 

"The fact that there was an ideological manifesto with extreme views attached to this attack, of course, that is deeply disturbing," she said.

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First Published: Mar 17 2019 | 9:45 AM IST

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