Dramatic new video shows the moment Christchurch police arrested suspected mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant.

The footage, filmed by a motorist on Strickland Street, shows police drawing their guns on the 28 year old before dragging him out of a Subaru.

Police reportedly had to crash into the vehicle to get him to stop.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said it took 36 minutes from the first attack to the suspect’s arrest.

The release of the video comes after Tarrant made a brief but defiant appearance in court this morning.

Two armed guards led Brenton Harrison Tarrant into the courtroom, with his demeanour described as “smug”, “calm” and “composed”.

In a chilling move, Tarrant was seen making a “white power” hand gesture from the dock. He appeared to have a cut upper lip and was barefoot as District Court Judge Paul Kellar read one charge of murder.

One man attempted to get into court and vocally threatened “to knife” the accused before he was moved on by police.

The hearing lasted only about three minutes and Tarrant was led back out in handcuffs, ordered to return to court on April 5.

Judge P. Kellar said there was only one charge at the moment “but assume there will be others”.

The one charge sheet stated that Tarrant “on the 15th day of March 2019 at Christchurch murdered (name suppressed) … with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment”.

A stocky and muscular Tarrant was ushered into the courtroom in hand cuffs, and wearing white prison garb, to answer the single murder charge.

No plea was entered and he did not say a word but continuously looked about the courtroom and rocked gently on his feet.

The judge suppressed the name of the male victim out of respect for his family and the broader community.

While Tarrant’s appearance lasted about three minutes, the judge spent 10 minutes to reflect on the tragedy from a legal point of view.

A large throng of press were the only people allowed access to the locked-down court building to bear witness to the brief proceedings and the judge wanted to explain why the public was banned.

He said the media were “the surrogates of the public and I’ve taken this decision to clear the court for reasons of public safety”.

But he said for openness and transparency that were fundamental to the principles of New Zealand justice he allowed the brief proceedings to be filmed, photographed and audio recorded to relay to the world’s public.

He said he felt that was the court’s obligation to the victims.

As a precaution however he ordered the face of the defendant be pixelated in case identity was to become an issue.

He said the recording on a pool basis followed applications by the media from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. He issued an 11-page instruction document to each individual press person in the room as a “reminder you are the eyes and ears of the public” and beholden to fair and balanced reporting.

In a court charge sheet distributed to the media, a second man was also charged in relation to the tragedy.

The 19-year-old local was charged with having “intent to excite hostility, ill will against any group of persons in New Zealand on the grounds of the colour, race or ethnic or national origins of that group of persons, publishes written material which is insulting”. The maximum penalty is NZ$7000 under the Human Rights Act.

Outside the courthouse, dozens of locals lined up on the steps behind a police cordon to catch a glimpse of the man who has traumatised their city. One man seen attempted to get into court and vocally threatened “to knife” the accused before he was moved on by police. Tensions are running high in the city.

ARREST MADE AFTER 36 MINUTES
New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush told a news conference that the investigation into Friday’s attacks was wide ranging and ongoing. When asked if they believed the same person was responsible for both attacks, he said he couldn’t go into details, but “we know nothing that will contradict what you’ve just suggested.”

Bush said it took 36 minutes from the first attack to the suspect’s arrest.

Meanwhile, Australian police say the family of the suspect in the New Zealand mosque shootings is helping their investigation.

New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said Tarrant’s family, from the northern New South Wales town of Grafton, contacted police after seeing media reports of the shootings.

Fuller said Tarrant had spent little time in Australia in the past four years while Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing said Tarrant was only known to police for “minor traffic matters.”

As the court case was going on, a few hundreds of metres away a dozens of locals gathered to lay flowers and wreaths at the spot where someone was randomly killed during Tarrant’s alleged drive-by shooting.

“It’s too much, just too much,” one woman said as she broke down in tears.

NZ PM SAYS GUN LAWS ‘WILL CHANGE’
Tarrant’s court appearance came as New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to change the nation’s gun laws, confirming the “primary perpetrator” in Christchurch’s terror attack used five weapons.

“I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change,” Ms Ardern said, at a press conference in Wellington earlier today. .

“There have been attempts to change our laws in 2005, 2012 and after an inquiry in 2017.

“Now is the time for change.”

Later, Ms Ardern was in Christchurch to meet with leaders of the Muslim community at Canterbury Refugee Centre.

At least 49 people were killed and more than 40 injured when Tarrant allegedly opened fire at two mosques yesterday in an act of hate-fuelled terror.

Ms Ardern said she was advised the gunman obtained a Category A gun licence in November 2017 and “under that, he was able to acquire the guns that he held”.

It’s alleged Tarrant used two semiautomatic weapons, two shotguns and a lever-action firearm, she said.

“When people, of course, hear that this individual had acquired a gun licence and acquired weapons of that range, then obviously I think people will be seeking change, and I’m committing to that,” Ms Ardern said.

HOW NZ’S ‘DARKEST DAY’ UNFOLDED
Forty-one worshippers slain were at the Masjid al Noor in central Christchurch, with seven more killed at the Linwood Ave mosque, five kilometres away, three of them outside the building.

Another victim died in hospital with operating theatres at various hospitals in the city conducting surgery well into the night yesterday. All hospitals were closed to general patients other than in emergency cases as medical staff struggled to deal with the mass casualties.

Tarrant livestreamed his bloody rampage, having a day earlier posted on social media a prompt to watch.

New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush said three others connected to the killing spree, two men and a woman, were also still in custody and were linked to Tarrant.

A high police and military presence remained on the streets of Christchurch and also Dunedin, about a four-and-a-half hour drive south. Overnight, police evacuated residents living near a property in the city in what police said was a “precaution”.

In his social media rant and published manifesto, Tarrant said Dunedin’s ethnic community and the Al Huda Mosque was to be his primary target which he had long scoped for attack but changed his mind when he saw Christchurch’s mosques.

A car linked to the tragedy in Christchurch was registered to an address in Dunedin.

Police and defence forensic experts were also still inspecting two IED (improvised explosive devices) that were found in cars linked to Tarrant to establish their sophistication.

They were disarmed but it was not clear if they could have caused damage.

Critically though, Tarrant has boasted how he had originally planed to make a bomb attack but decided on weapons including assault rifles instead.

SPORTS STARS LEAVE CHRISTCHURCH
The Bangladeshi national cricket team flew out of Christchurch this morning with a heavily armed police escort.

Players were being escorted in threes to their gate by police. They expressed sorrow for the city and said team members were very upset by events and were in shock how close they came to being victims too.

New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Helen Clark backed Ms Ardern’s call for tighter gun controls in New Zealand.

“I hope the New Zealand parliament will back her the way the Australian parliament backed John Howard,” Ms Clark said today.

“I for one would be delighted if our gun laws were tightened to equal those of Australia.”

Ms Clark also slammed social media platforms for their “lack of self-regulation” in terms of monitoring hate speech.

“The academics in New Zealand who have ben studying white supremicism will tell us (the shooting) is not out of the blue, but what has exacerbated the problem is social media platforms. Social media has become a platform for the propagation of violence and violent acts.”

Donald Trump played down any threat posed by racist white nationalism on Friday after the gunman accused of the New Zealand mosque massacre called the president “a symbol of renewed white identity.”

Trump, whose own previous responses to the movement have drawn scrutiny, expressed sympathy for the victims who died at “places of worship turned into scenes of evil killing.” But he declined to join expressions of mounting concern about white nationalism, saying “I don’t, really” when asked whether he thought it was a rising threat around the world.

“I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess,” Trump said. “If you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that’s the case. I don’t know enough about it yet. But it’s certainly a terrible thing.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attacks as “absolutely appalling” and said they evoked painful memories for Canadians only two years after a similar massacre.

“Attacking people during prayers is absolutely appalling, and Canada strongly condemns today’s shootings in New Zealand,” Trudeau said on Twitter.

“Our thoughts and hearts go out to the victims and their families, and we join New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world in grieving.”

The flag atop the Canadian parliament was lowered to half-staff in memory of the victims.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaking in Sydney, extended his sympathies to New Zealand and “particularly those of Islamic faith”.

“Australia and New Zealand — we’re not just allies, we’re not just partners. We’re family. As family members … we grieve, we are shocked, we are appalled, we are outraged.

“We stand here and condemn absolutely the attack that occurred today by an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist (who) has taken the lives, stolen lives, in a vicious, murderous attack.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he hoped New Zealand “will arrest these terrorists and do the necessary under the law of the country”, while Indonesian President Joko Widodo, head of the world’s largest Muslim country, said “we strongly condemn these kind of violent acts”.

Both Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom were referenced in Tarrant’s disturbing manifesto, offered their sympathies as did UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May.

US President Donald Trump and the Queen also offered their condolences, along with Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry and their wives Catherine and Meghan.