Fox guest: New Zealand's struggles with “how to deal with the immigrants” may have contributed to Christchurch mosque shootings

Michael Balboni: “There was a law passed in 2017 that restricted the ability of foreigners to buy land,” because “citizens of New Zealand were feeling like they were being forced out. That could have played into it.”

From the March 15 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom

Video file

BILL HEMMER (CO-ANCHOR): I think the chilling thing, Mike, is that he wanted to live. Based on the reporting we're getting out of New Zealand that he wants to stand trial, and there's only one reason for that. He wants to make sure his views get expressed publicly, how sick is that?

MICHAEL BALBONI (REDLAND STRATEGIES): Bill you're absolutely right. Normally, these types of shootings that we've seen in the United States, the shooter takes their life within 5 to 10 minutes of the activity. So this individual is sick, he posted these rantings online beforehand, and also to take this military action -- that's really what this is. You go and you get this military style weapon and you go into a mosque where people are praying, unarmed, and just to slaughter them. It becomes such a question of insanity that someone would want to do this. But, you know, the question that has also been circulating whether or not this was an attack that was based upon religion or based upon immigration. The New Zealand community has really been kind of struggling a little bit over time in terms of how to deal with the immigrants. There's been a law -- there was a law passed in 2017 that restricted the ability of foreigners to buy land within New Zealand because the housing prices were being inflated and citizens of New Zealand were feeling like they were being forced out. That could have played into it. So we don't know necessarily if the motivation was against immigrants or against Muslims specifically.

Related

NY Times: New Zealand Shooting Live Updates: 49 Are Dead After 2 Mosques Are Hit

Bloomberg: New Zealand Shooter’s Manifesto Resembles Norway Mass Murderer’s

Previously

After a far-right gunman massacres Muslims in Christchurch, a Fox analyst warns of “extremists on all sides”

This one segment shows how differently Fox treats Christians and Muslims when it comes to terrorism

Fox News: Where you can bash Islam with impunity