Christchurch mosque shooting: How accused obtained guns - the referees and police interview

A police vetting officer visited the Dunedin home of the accused Christchurch gunman in the month before he received his gun licence.

Police today revealed the gunman also used two referees, both residents of New Zealand, after an earlier referee, a family member, was not permitted because they did not live here.

"Based on the information available to us at this time, we have found that correct process was followed by staff involved in the firearms licence application," the spokesperson said.

The accused filed an application for a firearms licence in September 2017 in Dunedin.

"The vetting process was undertaken by a Police Firearms Vetting Officer in Dunedin, where the accused resided," the spokesperson said.

"The accused initially listed a family member as one of his referees but that person did not reside in New Zealand.

"Policy states that a referee must be a resident of New Zealand, therefore new referees were requested.

"The accused provided two further referees who met the requirements of the process and were interviewed face to face by a Police Firearms Vetting Officer.

"One of the steps to gaining a firearms licence is a home visit to meet the applicant in person and inspect the security of their property."

In October 2017, the accused was interviewed at his home address in Dunedin.

A security inspection took place at the same time.

"Following this, all the available information was reviewed and the licence was approved in November 2017."