Bulgaria launches probe into recent visit by New Zealand mosque shooter
Prosecutors in Bulgaria on Friday launched a probe into a recent visit to the country by an Australian man alleged to be the gunman who killed 49 people in attacks on two New Zealand mosques.
The suspected assailant visited Bulgaria from November 9-15 last year claiming he wanted "to visit historical sites and study the history of the Balkan country," Bulgaria's chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said.
He said the inquiry would establish if this was "correct or if he had other objectives".
According to investigators, 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 Bucharest where he hired a car to travel to Hungary, Tsatsarov said.
The Australian had also made a short visit to the Balkans from December 28-30, 2016, travelling by bus across Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sofia said it was in contact with authorities in the US, New Zealand, .