Christchurch mosque terror attack: Coronial scope hearing to examine Muslim community's unanswered questions

The imam of a Christchurch mosque where 42 worshippers were shot dead by a rampaging terrorist nearly three years ago hopes unanswered questions, along with a clarification of "copy-and-paste" narratives of New Zealand's darkest day, will be addressed at a coronial scope hearing next week.

Key questions for the surviving, and still largely traumatised, Muslim community include whether the Deans Ave masjid's CTTV system was turned off by police less than 30 minutes after the March 15, 2019 attack, and why first police officers arriving at the confused scene didn't block the road and stop the gunman leaving to attack Linwood Islamic Centre across town, killing another nine people.

Coroner Brigitte Windley is presiding over a three-day scope hearing starting in Christchurch on Tuesday – the 11th anniversary of the Garden City's other "darkest day", the February 22, 2011 earthquake which claimed 185 lives.

It's designed to give interested parties, including victims and families, an opportunity to make submissions themselves, or through a lawyer, on exactly what a coronial inquiry into the attacks will look at. The inquiry will aim to establish cause and circumstances of death, where possible, and consider any recommendations or comments that could help reduce the chances of further deaths in similar circumstances.

There has been no decision on whether a full inquest hearing will be held.

The Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who was jailed for life without parole in August 2020, will dial into the scope hearing from maximum-security at Auckland Prison.

The Christchurch Muslim community still have unanswered questions nearly three years after the March 15, 2019 terror attacks. Photo / NZME

He will not be seen or heard but it's understood that he will be represented by Auckland defence lawyer Ron Mansfield QC who could make oral submissions on his behalf.

Gamal Fouda, imam of Masjid Al Noor who survived the massacre, has also instructed a lawyer and hopes the process will help confirm exactly what happened that day.

There have been community concerns over "discrepancies" in various reports of the attack, which have gone before the coroner, which go against what survivors say they experienced first-hand.

"A lot of the coroner reports have been copy-and-paste," he says.

The concerns are serious and include how cause of death has been noted for some individuals, with fears some individuals have been confused with others.

The Al Noor community also want to know whether it's true that police officers switched off security cameras inside the mosque at 2.15pm that day – less than half an hour after the gunman left – and if so, why.

Fouda personally wants to know why Deans Ave was not blocked off when police first arrived, which may have stopped the terrorist from driving to Linwood to continue his murderous rampage.

"It is one of the questions that disturbs me and the community," he says.

Masjid Al Noor imam Gamal Fouda hopes the coronial inquiry will address any questions his people have. Photo / NZME

The events of March 15, 2019, including what happened during its lead-up, were widely examined during a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attacks. A 792-page report released in December 2020, found that New Zealand's security agencies had deployed "an inappropriate concentration of resources" probing Islamic extremism before the shootings.

And although there was widespread relief when the terrorist eventually pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, along with a count of terrorism, it meant that the granular details of the tragedy were not deeply explored at a High Court trial.

For people like Fouda, there is hope that the coronial inquiry will finally bring some answers to any unanswered questions.

"We strongly trust the judicial system and that we will get answers that people have concerns about," he says.

"No one can deny that March 15 [2019] changed New Zealand forever," he said.

"It was not like an earthquake or volcano, it was a manmade hate crime and the effects continue for the majority of our Muslim community, but also the non-Muslim community including those who driving past, the neighbours, the students at [Christchurch Girls' High.

"People are still suffering and will do so for the rest of our lives."

The hearing on the scope of a coronial inquiry into the March 15 Christchurch mosque attacks begins at the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct on Tuesday.