New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said her office was among several recipients of a so-called manifesto by the suspected Christchurch gunman just minutes before the first shots were fired.
Ardern told reporters a copy of the document was emailed to her office nine minutes before the mosque attacks began, the Press Association reports.
She said: “I was one of more than 30 recipients of a manifesto that was mailed out nine minutes before the attack took place.
“It did not include location. It did not include specific details.
“Within two minutes of receipt it was conveyed directly to parliamentary security.
“Had it provided details that could have been acted on immediately it would have been, but unfortunately there were no such details in the email.”
She added: “The fact that there was an ideological manifesto with extreme views attached to this attack is, of course, deeply disturbing.”
The development come as the death toll from the massacre rose to 50.
A 74-page manifesto, believed to have been written by suspect Brenton Tarrant, was posted online and outlined his anti-immigrant motives.
The manifesto cited “white genocide”, a term typically used by racist groups to refer to immigration and the growth of minority populations, as his motivation.
A Q&A section reads: “Were/are you a racist?”
“Yes, by definition, as I believe racial differences exist between peoples and they have a great impact on the way we shape our societies.”
Another asks: “Who are you?” The answer says: “Just a (sic) ordinary White man, 28 years old. Born in Australia to a working class, low income family.”
“My parents are of Scottish, Irish and English stock. I had a regular childhood, without any great issues. I had little interest in education during my schooling, barely achieving a passing grade.”
He adds: “I am just a regular White man, from a regular family. Who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people.”
He describes himself as “a private and mostly introverted person” and admits he is racist, adding that he is an “Eco-fascist by nature”.
Part of the manifesto cites “Darren Osbourne” – an apparent reference to Darren Osborne who drove a van into a crowd of worshippers leaving Finsbury Mosque in June 2017.
Listing other perpetrators of massacres, it reads: “I support many of those that take a stand against ethnic and cultural genocide. Luca Traini, Anders Breivik, Dylan Roof, Anton Lundin Pettersson, Darren Osbourne etc.”