New Zealand Police have charged a man following a threat to carbomb the two houses of worship targeted in the Christchurch Mosques terror attacks.
On Thursday evening, Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price announced they had charged a 27-year-old man with threatening to kill.
“We take these matters very seriously,” Mr Price said.
“It was credible enough that we took action straight away.
“Any threat made on our community and our people is a threat to our society and will not be tolerated.”
Another man arrested was released without charge.
The arrests come just days before the second anniversary of the devastating attacks, which occurred on 15 March 2019.
Last August, Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for 51 murders at the mosques.
Police raided two properties in Christchurch earlier on Thursday night following a tipoff from the member of the public regarding the online threat.
News outlet Stuff said a man, claiming to be a South African immigrant, posted on a notorious right-wing forum he planned to “take action” on the anniversary of the attacks by carbombing Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.
The man, who adopted a username similar to the gunman, said he would livestream the attacks, just as the gunman did.
Police “took precautionary procedures” and searched both mosques after the threat.
The man, who remains in custody, will appear in court tomorrow.
“Any messages of hate or people wanting to cause harm in our community will not be tolerated. It’s not the Kiwi way,” Mr Price said.
Muslim Association of Canterbury spokesman Abdigani Ali thanked police.
“We would like to show our appreciation to New Zealand Police in identifying the threat and acting promptly,” he said.
“There is no place for hate rhetoric and hate crimes in our country and every community no matter their race or beliefs should feel a sense of safety and belonging.”
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