The three-judge panel dismissed Tarrant’s claim that harsh prison conditions and poor mental health had caused him to plead guilty involuntarily in March 2020, concluding there was no evidence he had suffered from a mental impairment that affected his legal judgment.

“He was not suffering from a mental impairment or any other form of mental incapacity which rendered him unable to voluntarily change his pleas to guilty,” the judges wrote in their decision.

The court said the Australian national, now 35, had attempted to mislead judges about his mental state in what it described as “a weak attempt to advance an appeal,” adding that evidence showed he had made an informed and rational decision when he admitted guilt.

Tarrant carried out the attacks in March 2019, driving to two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers and opening fire with semiautomatic weapons, killing 51 people and injuring dozens more in New Zealand’s deadliest modern mass shooting.

His guilty pleas a year later spared victims’ families and survivors from a lengthy public trial, which many feared would give him a platform to spread extremist views.The appeal court noted that Tarrant’s bid to challenge those pleas was filed 505 days after the legal deadline, but it proceeded to hear the matter because of its public significance.

During a five-day hearing in February, Tarrant argued that “irrationality” caused by poor mental health had temporarily led him to abandon his white supremacist ideology and plead guilty.

The judges rejected that argument, saying prison staff, mental health professionals and his former lawyers did not support his claims. They also noted that he had accepted the summary of facts presented by police and the sentencing judge, while the evidence against him was overwhelming.

That evidence included video footage of the attack that Tarrant filmed himself and livestreamed online, clearly showing his face, as well as a manifesto outlining his racist ideology that he published under his real name before the shootings.

The ruling also disclosed that Tarrant sought to abandon the appeal shortly after presenting his case in February, but judges refused, saying the matter was of “significant public interest and should be finally determined.”They said he appeared to conclude the hearing was not going in his favor and then attempted to withdraw the case after proceedings ended.

Tarrant was sentenced in August 2020 to life imprisonment without parole, the first such sentence in New Zealand’s history. He remains in Auckland Prison.The judges allowed him to abandon a separate appeal against that sentence, which had been scheduled to be heard later in 2026.

The federal inquiry found that Australia’s Jewish community “was the evident target of the attack,” in which Sajid Akram and his son Naveed allegedly opened fire on crowds gathered at the Sydney beachfront suburb on Dec. 14, marking the country’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades.

An email sent by the Community Security Group to police before the event warned that “a terrorist attack against the NSW Jewish Community is likely and there is a high level of antisemitic vilification,” the report said.Police responded that they could not provide dedicated officers for the Hanukkah gathering but said mobile patrols would be sent to “check in and monitor the event,” according to the inquiry.

The commission said police should consider strengthening security arrangements for Jewish celebrations that have a strong public presence, particularly during periods of heightened threat.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the federal government would implement all recommendations made by the inquiry and pledged stronger protections for the community.“I can assure the Australian public that the government will do everything necessary to protect the community in the wake of the Bondi attack,” Albanese told reporters.

Asked whether police had failed to adequately monitor the Bondi event, Albanese said operational responsibility rested with the New South Wales state government.The royal commission, Australia’s highest form of public inquiry, is examining intelligence failures, police preparedness and the broader rise of antisemitism across the country following the attack.

It said Australia’s counter-terrorism capabilities “could be improved” and recommended an immediate review of leadership structures and information-sharing arrangements between agencies responsible for national security and counter-terrorism.

The shooting triggered widespread debate over antisemitism in Australia, public anger over the protection of Jewish communities and renewed political pressure to tighten gun control and hate crime laws.

Victims’ families wrote an open letter in December urging Albanese to establish a federal royal commission into what they described as the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia.“We demand answers and solutions,” the letter said.

Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police during the attack. His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody and has been charged with terrorism offenses and 15 counts of murder.

The inquiry is being led by former High Court judge Virginia Bell and is expected to continue examining evidence through public hearings over the coming months.

The attack occurred around midday at the historic complex in central Mexico, where the assailant fired from the Pyramid of the Moon, a major monument within the site.

Cristobal Castaneda, security secretary for Mexico state, said the gunman’s nationality was not immediately known and confirmed that he died by suicide at the scene.Six people sustained gunshot wounds and were treated in local hospitals, including a Canadian woman, a Colombian woman and child, a Brazilian national and two Americans, officials said.

Seven others were injured during the panic that followed and received treatment at the site, among them a Russian, a Colombian, a Brazilian and four Americans.Authorities recovered a firearm, a knife and unused ammunition, and evacuated visitors as police and National Guard units secured the area.

Video footage circulating on social media showed the attacker firing intermittently from partway up the pyramid as tourists fled or sought cover, though the material has not been independently verified.Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand described the incident as “a horrific act of gun violence” in a post on X.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had ordered a thorough investigation and deployed personnel to assist those affected, calling the incident deeply distressing.Located about 50 kilometers from Mexico City, Teotihuacan draws millions of domestic and international visitors annually to its ancient pyramids and ceremonial avenues.

Tourism officials said the site attracted more than 1.8 million visitors in 2025.The shooting comes less than two months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico is set to co-host alongside the United States and Canada, with authorities expecting more than 5.5 million visitors during the tournament.

Mexico has long grappled with high levels of criminal violence linked to organized crime, though mass shootings targeting tourists at major archaeological sites are rare.

Officials said investigations are ongoing to determine the motive and circumstances of the attack.

The victims, three boys and five girls aged between three and 11, were killed in what officials described as a domestic incident linked to a marital separation.Elkins’ wife, Shaneiqua Elkins, and her sister were wounded in the attack, while other family members escaped.

Authorities said Elkins died after fleeing the scene, though it remains unclear whether he was shot by police or died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn said the killings had shaken the community, prompting calls for stronger measures to address domestic violence. Schools in the area brought in counselors to support students affected by the incident.Family members said the couple had been in the process of separating and were due in court on Monday. Relatives described the children as well cared for and central to their mother’s life.

Authorities said Elkins had a prior felony conviction for illegal use of a weapon in 2019, which legally barred him from possessing firearms for a period after completing his sentence.

Investigators are examining how he obtained the weapon used in the attack.Police said there was no known recent history of domestic violence involving Elkins, though he had briefly checked into a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital earlier this year, according to relatives.

The violence unfolded across two locations, with Elkins first shooting a woman in one neighborhood before targeting the home where the children were killed. One child who died was identified by local officials as his nephew.

The shooting is the deadliest in the United States since January 2024, according to data compiled by The Associated Press in partnership with USA Today and Northeastern University.

Community members gathered for vigils late Sunday, leaving flowers, candles and toys near the scene as local leaders called for renewed efforts to prevent domestic violence and gun-related tragedies.

The attack took place in the province of Kahramanmaras, where Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said six of the injured were in critical condition. Authorities ruled out terrorism, describing the incident as a personal act carried out by a student.

“This was solely a personal attack carried out by one of our students, it is not a terror incident,” Ciftci told reporters.

Governor Mukerrem Unluer said the attacker, an eighth-grade pupil, entered two classrooms of younger students armed with five firearms and seven magazines, which authorities believe belonged to his former police officer father.

The suspect later killed himself during the incident, the governor added.The shooting targeted fifth-grade students, typically aged 10 to 11, and caused casualties “indiscriminately,” Unluer said.

The attack follows another school shooting a day earlier in Sanliurfa that left 16 people injured, raising concerns over school safety in a country where such incidents are rare.Officials said the suspect’s father had been detained as part of the investigation.

Turkey has relatively strict gun laws, requiring licenses and setting a minimum age of 21 for legal ownership, though firearms remain accessible, particularly among security personnel permitted to carry weapons.

Authorities said they would consider additional safety measures following the incidents but did not provide further details.

Akram, 24, is charged with opening fire at a Jewish Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach in December, killing 15 people in what police have described as one of the country’s worst mass shootings and an attack inspired by Islamic State.

The accused had sought a 40-year suppression order to block publication of the names, images and identifying details of his mother, brother and sister, arguing that publicity could endanger their safety.

Several Australian media organizations opposed the application, saying it would unduly restrict reporting in a case of significant public interest.Judge Hugh Donnelly ruled against the request, stating that suppression orders should be granted only in exceptional circumstances and that transparency in judicial proceedings was fundamental.

He noted the case had generated “unprecedented public interest, anger, outrage and grief.”The court heard that personal details of Akram’s family had already circulated widely online, while his mother had spoken to local media shortly after the attack.

Donnelly added that any order limited to Australian jurisdiction would be ineffective given the reach of social media and international publications.Akram appeared via video link from a maximum-security prison and did not contest the ruling further.

His lawyer, Richard Wilson, told the court there were no plans to appeal the decision.The December attack shocked Australia, a country with strict gun control laws, and has prompted renewed debate over firearm regulation and rising antisemitism.

The government has since launched a national inquiry into antisemitism and social cohesion, with findings expected later this year, alongside measures to strengthen hate speech legislation.