WELLINGTON, April 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New Zealand police found a suspected
bomb and ammunition Tuesday in a vacant lot in Christchurch, the scene of
last month’s mosque shootings which killed 50 Muslim worshippers.
Police cordoned off streets late Tuesday afternoon in the Phillipstown
area just outside the central business district and evacuated local houses.
Shortly after 6:00pm (0600 GMT) they said a military bomb squad had
rendered a suspicious package safe and a 33-year-old man had been arrested
and was “assisting police with inquiries”.
“Police have located a package containing a suspected explosive device and
ammunition at a vacant address on Newcastle Street in Christchurch,”
superintendent John Price said in a statement.
“The NZDF EOD (NZ Defence Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team have
rendered the package safe.”
Price did not provide any background about the man or his possible
motivations.
Christchurch remains on alert after the March attacks in which a self-
styled white supremacist shot dead 50 people and injured another 39 in
attacks on two mosques.
Just last week, the South Island city hosted a massive security operation
as Britain’s Prince William visited survivors of the atrocity and praised the
country’s response to the massacre.
While the cordons prompted by the latest scare had been lifted, Price
urged residents to remain vigilant.
“Members of the community are asked to continue to report any concerning
behaviour or activity in their neighbourhoods as we all work together to
ensure the safety of our community,” he said.
The gunman allegedly behind the mosque shootings, 28-year-old Australian
Brenton Tarrant, is in a maximum-security prison in Auckland has been ordered
to undergo psychiatric tests.