Bulgarian prosecutors have launched an investigation into a recent
trip to the country by an Australian man alleged to be the gunman who
killed 49 people in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The suspected killer, who identified himself as Australian citizen
Brenton Tarrant, visited Bulgaria from November 9 to November 15
claiming he wanted “to visit historical sites and study the history of
the Balkan country,” Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said on
March 15.
Tsatsarov said the probe would establish if this was “correct or if he had other objectives.”
Investigators say the man arrived in Sofia from Dubai on November 9 and
hired a car the following day to visit historical sites in ten
locations.
He left on November 15 on a flight bound for neighboring Romania’s
capital, Bucharest, where he hired a car to travel to Hungary, Tsatsarov
said.
The Australian had also made a short visit to the Balkans on December
28-30, 2016, traveling by bus across Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Bulgarian authorities said they were in contact with authorities in the
United States, New Zealand, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia,
and Montenegro over the matter.