‘Fruit loop’: Dunedin hunters reveal how Brenton Tarrant acted at rifle range

A New Zealand man who met accused terrorist Brenton Tarrant at a rifle range has described the moment that left him “shaken”.

EXCLUSIVE

The accused mosque massacre shooter was a gun club “fruit loop” who allegedly “shot like he meant it” with high powered rifles in practise with other shooters.

Police believe Tarrant is responsible for Friday’s Christchurch massacres — and allege he travelled between two packed mosques and gunned down 50 people.

He was arrested 36 minutes after the initial attack at the Al Noor Mosque.

Tarrant also allegedly made verbal rants about young skateboarders and his right to carry firearms which left one animal hunter “shaken” after spending a day shooting with the accused.

But the hunting enthusiast claims nothing was done when he told police in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin about Tarrant’s odd behaviour.

Tarrant is accused of the worst massacre in New Zealand history, a terror attack that started shortly after 1pm local time on Friday in Christchurch when he stormed a mosque and started shooting.

Brenton Tarrant, the man charged in relation to the Christchurch massacre. Picture: Mark Mitchell/AFP

The 28-year-old, who is from Grafton in NSW but moved to Dunedin two or three years ago, allegedly shot and killed 50 people in two mosques during a rampage he filmed and livestreamed.

He was arrested shortly after the attack and has been charged with one count of murder. Further charges are expected and he did not request bail on Saturday.

In Facebook posts obtained by news.com.au, one hunter described a shooting session between Tarrant and his friends at a remote rifle club south of Dunedin as worrying.

The post, from November 2017, talks about members of the rifle club and how “one in particular had me really worried”.

News.com.au has confirmed the man being referred to is Brenton Tarrant.

It reads: “He was complaining about skateboarding kids at the uni saying if they can carry their boards then he should be allowed to carry a gun.”

A Facebook respondent in the same forum replied, “I’d make a call to the arms officer the guy sounds like a fruit loop”.

The hunter updated the post on Saturday, saying, “I’d warned the police about the rifle club where he trained … un f***ing believable.”

Hunters who shot with Tarrant have shared what they remember about the accused terrorist. Picture: Facebook

The hunters claimed they told police about Tarrant and police dismissed their concerns. Picture: Facebook

He claims police told him “they are a strange bunch” but “they are harmless enough”.

He said: “My day with (Tarrant) had me shaken to say the least.”

Dunedin hunter Tristan, 34, who had a polite nodding acquaintance with Tarrant over the last two years, described to news.com.au the behaviour which alarmed him.

“He shot like he meant it and with high powered [weapons]. You don’t need all that for hunting animals, which we do humanely,” Tristan said.

At the pale blue clapboard home with a tidy garden rented by Brenton Tarrant in the sleepy Dunedin suburb of Anderson Bay on Saturday, police armed with rifles were still guarding the property on Saturday

After Friday’s attack on two Christchurch mosques, police swooped on the rental house and bomb dogs were sent through the property’s ceiling.

This follows the alleged discovery of two IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on vehicles, at least one of which was associated with Tarrant’s Dunedin address.

Tarrant appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday for less than three minutes. He smiled at media inside the courtroom.

Mourners at a candlelight prayer in Melbourne. Picture: Jaimi Chisholm/Getty Images

The judge said further similar charges were likely and remanded him in custody until April 5.

The attack on the two mosques came minutes after the 28-year-old allegedly sent a vile 73-page manifesto to several prominent email addresses, including that belonging to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

In it, he described himself as “just a regular white man” from “a working class, low-income family … who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people”.

A spokesman from Ardern’s office confirmed the document was sent to a generic address not checked by the prime minister herself.

New Zealanders have showed resilience in the face of the worst act of terror in the country’s history.

An imam who was leading prayers at the Linwood mosque at the time of the attack said the Muslim community would not be shaken by the massacre.

“We still love this country,” said Ibrahim Abdul Halim, vowing that extremists would “never ever touch our confidence”.