Officers who stopped Christchurch shooting suspect get award

The two New Zealand police officers who managed to arrest a man accused of killing 51 people at two mosques have been given a bravery award.

On March 15, the officers rammed the suspect’s car off the road in the city of Christchurch and dragged him from the vehicle.

The officers are credited with saving lives after Brenton Tarrant wrote in his manifesto that he planned to attack a third mosque in the town of Ashburton.

The identity of the officers has been suppressed by the New Zealand court system ahead of Tarrant’s trial next June. Because of that secrecy, the officers received their awards at a private ceremony Wednesday with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

In a statement, the officers said they were simply doing their job.