Terrorist accidentally shot himself before mosque attacks - report

It's claimed the man responsible for the Christchurch terrorist attacks, was treated for gunshot wounds months before the mosque attacks.

Stuff is reporting this morning that Brenton Tarrant was treated by Dunedin doctors in the months leading up to 15 March 2019 after accidentally shooting himself but staff never alerted police to his injuries.

The gunman was left with bullet fragments in his eye and leg after accidentally discharging a gun while he was cleaning or handling it at his Dunedin home, Stuff reported.

At the time, there was no mandatory legislation regarding reporting gunshot wounds.

In responding to the Stuff story, the Southern District Health Board said it welcomes a debate around whether clinicians should disclose gunshot injuries to police.

The DHB's chief executive, Chris Fleming, said in a statement that the mosque attacks which claimed 51 lives were a horrendous tragedy that society must learn from but it was impossible for clinicians to predict the outcomes.

He said that he was open to discussing mandatory reporting of gunshot wounds, which is understood to be a recommendation made by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attack, which is releasing its findings at 2pm today.