2019 Christchurch mosque shooter exploited rifle loophole, despite prior concerns from firearm owners' council.

A former senior police officer, Mike McIlraith, stated he did not notice any concerns from the firearms community about a loophole allowing the conversion of semi-automatic rifles into military-style ones, which Brenton Tarrant exploited in the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. The Council of Licensed Firearm Owners had repeatedly raised this issue with police from 2010 to 2019, but their concerns were not addressed, leading to significant debate over New Zealand's gun control laws.