New Zealand mosque shooting suspect drops bid to move trial

A file picture of Brenton Tarrant, the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019.

The

man accused of killing 51 people at two New Zealand mosques has abandoned his bid to move the trial to another city.

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The unexpected development on Thursday was welcomed by survivors and grieving relatives of the March 15 attacks, who had worried they would have had to travel to Auckland to appear as witnesses or watch the proceedings.

Many of the 80 or so people who packed a Christchurch court room were unhappy about the demeanor of the accused shooter, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant. Tarrant appeared via a video link from the maximum-security prison where he is being held.

During the brief hearing, he smirked, winked and tried to shout something with his hand cupped around his mouth.