THE man accused of mass shootings at mosques in New Zealand has fired his lawyer and plans to represent himself in court, leading to speculation that he might try to use his trial as a platform for extremist views.

Brenton Tarrant, 28, of Australia, who has been charged with one count of murder, appeared to be lucid and not mentally unstable, said Richard Peters, his former attorney. He is expected to face more charges when he next appears in court April 5.

Fifty people were killed and 40 were injured in the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, an act that has shocked this country of 4.5 million people. There are still 34 people in the hospital, including a 4-year-old girl who is in a critical condition.

At the bottom of the South Pacific, New Zealand has long been considered safe from terrorism and from the outside world in general.

American tycoons flocked to buy property here in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and other terrorist attacks on the United States.

The death toll from Friday’s attacks exceeds New Zealand’s annual homicide rate; 35 people were killed in 2017, the latest year for which figures are available.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for changes to the nation’s gun laws.

Presently, people must obtain licenses to own guns, and 99.6 percent of the 43,509 license applications filed in 2017 were approved. Tarrant had a gun license and used a variant of the AR-15, a semiautomatic weapon that has been used in many mass shootings in the United States, including at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018; on the Las Vegas Strip in 2017; and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in 2012.

With many mosques nationwide closed since the attacks, some churches welcomed Muslims into their buildings over the weekend to allow them to pray in sacred spaces.

Australian counterterrorism police raided two houses in New South Wales yesterday. One was that of Tarrant’s sister in Sandy Beach and the other was where Tarrant grew up.

Tarrant was born and raised in Australia but had been traveling for the past nine or so years, including to Turkey and Pakistan. (SD-Agencies)