New Zealand has often been considered a safe country , and has a relatively low level of homicide . These attacks were the first mass shooting in the country since the Raurimu massacre in 1997 . Prior to that , the deadliest public mass shooting was the 1990 Aramoana massacre , in which 13 people died . While the country has rarely been associated with the extreme right , experts have suggested that far-right extremism has been growing in New Zealand . The sociologist Paul Spoonley has called Christchurch a hotbed for white supremacists and the extreme nationalist movement , a suggestion rejected by Christchurch MP Gerry Brownlee . Australia , where the alleged gunman was from , has also seen an increase in xenophobia , racism , and Islamophobia
Aramoana massacre
Aramoana massacre
Christchurch mosque shootings