New Zealand's prime minister was sent the mosque shooter's manifesto just minutes before the massacre

• The New Zealand shooter's manifesto was reportedly send to the prime minister's office just minutes before the massacre on Friday.
• A gunman shot dead 50 people and left 50 others wounded in an attack on two Christchurch mosques.
• The New Zealand Herald reported that the manifesto was sent to roughly 70 recipients, including local and international media outlets and politicians.

Just minutes before a gunman opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, his white nationalist manifesto was emailed to dozens of local and international media outlets — and even the prime minister's office.

Authorities announced Saturday that the death toll for the attacks rose to 50, with 50 others injured. The shooting suspect, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, made his first court appearance Saturday and is being detained on a murder charge.

The New Zealand Herald reported that the manifesto was sent to roughly 70 recipients fewer than 10 minutes before Tarrant allegedly opened fire.

Along with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, National leader Simon Bridges and Parliament's Speaker Trevor Mallard also received the manifesto, according to The New Zealand Herald.

Read more: What we know about the gun used in the mosque massacre in New Zealand, where gun laws are some of the most lax in the developed world

A spokesman for Ardern's office told the news outlet that the email was sent to a generic address for the prime minister's office, and did not go to Ardern's personal address.

It also didn't provide any warning in advance of the attack, the spokesman said.

"The mail was setting his reasons for doing it. He didn't say, 'This is what I am about to do,'" a spokesman for Ardern's office told The New Zealand Herald. "There was no opportunity to stop it."

Police Commissioner Mike Bush also briefly addressed the manifesto during a press conference on Sunday in New Zealand, saying the police department wasn't informed about the email until after the massacre.

"By the time we were advised of that email, the attack had taken place," he said.

• Read more:
• The death toll from the New Zealand mosque attacks has risen to 50
• What we know so far about Brenton Tarrant, the suspect in the New Zealand mosque shootings
• Video of arrest just after New Zealand mosque shootings appears to show how a suspect was caught by police
• The first victim of the New Zealand mass shooting has been identified: 71-year-old Daoud Nabi

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