The family of the man charged with murdering up to 50 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand has apologised to those who lost loved ones in the attack.
Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been accused of the worst mass murder in the nation’s history after he allegedly tore through two mosques, killing 50 and injuring 50 others.
His cousin, New South Wales woman Donna Cox, has said her once 'normal' relative deserves the death penalty, and condemns his alleged acts.
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“I know what he deserves. He deserves the death penalty for what he's done … and that hurts because he is family,' Ms Cox said in a candid interview on Sunday Night.
“For someone who’s taken the lives of so many people, it’s only fair that he deserves the same thing.”
Ms Cox explained the family was ‘very respected’ in their hometown of Grafton, 500km northeast of Sydney, before adding Tarrant’s parents were ‘pretty high in the community’.
“He wasn't raised like that, but I'm not here to defend him. If I could ask him - I'd ask him why. How could you do that?, she asked.
“That's a twisted mind right there. You'd have to be to be able to do something like that.”
Terry Fitzgerald, the uncle of Brenton Tarrant, has also apologised to the families of the victims in the terrorist attacks allegedly committed by his nephew.
"We are so sorry for the families over there, for the dead and the injured. What he has done is just not right," Mr Fitzgerald told AAP.
Tarrant's mother, Sharon, and sister, Lauren, have been placed under police protection.
"The police will do their duty and keep them protected which is what they need and no phone contact, they have said you can't contact them," Tarrant's grandmother Marie Fitzgerald, 81, said.
Sharon is a teacher at a local school and was taken by police while teaching a class when reports of the attack first came through on Friday.
Ms Cox did reveal that, as a child, Tarrant was obsessed with guns and violent video games and took a turn after his father - a local garbageman - died in 2010.
It has since been revealed that the 28-year-old extremist had a firearms licence and was in possession of five guns during the Friday attack.
Tarrant faced court on Saturday, charged with one count of murder and will reappear in New Zealand's High Court on April 5.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacks fell on 'one of New Zealand's darkest days' and vowed to tighten gun laws.
