A white Australian right-wing terrorist who livestreamed his sickening shooting spree on Facebook was one of four people arrested over dual mosque attacks which left 49 dead and 48 injured on New Zealand’s ‘darkest day’.
The gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, NSW, Australia, stormed the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country’s South Island about 1.30pm, opening fire with a semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle on hundreds of defenseless worshippers attending Friday prayers.
A sickening 17-minute video of the unfolding horror shows the self-confessed white supremacist dressed in army fatigues firing mercilessly at people scrambling to flee, and calmly reloading when he runs out of bullets.
At about the same time, there was a second shooting at Masjid mosque in Linwood, where seven more were killed.
In the aftermath of the bloody attacks, three men and one woman were arrested, with police charging ‘one man in his late 20s’ with murder.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her country had experienced one of its darkest days.
“It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” she said.
Ardern said the attack appeared to have been “well-planned”, with two bombs attached to cars, which had been defused by police.
She said the attackers had extremist views and had no place in New Zealand, “and in fact have no place in the world”.
“We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of those things.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed one of the suspects taken into custody was Australian, describing the act as a “vicious, murderous” act of “right-wing” terror.
In the killer’s live-stream, he can be seen parking his vehicle outside the Hagley Park mosque, before taking two guns and walking a short distance to the entrance of the building.
Tarrant filmed himself for 17 minutes as he sprayed victims with bullets during Friday prayers at the mosque.
Forty-nine killed in New Zealand terror attack on two mosques
He published an online link to a lengthy “manifesto”, which a security analyst described as “straight out of the white supremacist playbook”.
The manifesto said the attack was revenge for the “invaders in European lands” and “we must ensure the existence of our people, and a future for white children”.
It references “white genocide,” a Neo-Nazi conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced.
Tarrant said he was a supporter of Donald Trump as a “symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”
It also professes admiration for other white supremacist killers.
As the gunman approached the mosque, he said, “let’s get this party started” as loud music in his car played.
He then said, “Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie”, referencing the controversial YouTuber.
PewDiePie, real name Felix Kjellberg, is a 29-year-old YouTuber and comedian with 89 million subscribers.
He has been accused of promoting racism and anti-Semitism on his channel.
During a livestream in 2017 he used the racial slur “n****r”.
That same year he lost partnerships with Disney and YouTube after an expose of his regular use of antisemitism and Nazi imagery as props for shock humor.
Kjellberg responded on Twitter that he felt “absolutely sickened” by the shooting:
Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch.
I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person.
My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.— ƿ૯ωძɿ૯ƿɿ૯ (@pewdiepie) March 15, 2019
Kjellberg’s channel has the most subscribers on YouTube, at 89 million, and he has been attempting to recruit more so that he won’t be overtaken by another YouTuber, T-Series.
There is no question this mass shooting was designed with social media in mind.
The shooting was posted to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
A post on 8chan, a messageboard, included links to the manifesto and a Facebook page where the poster — an alleged shooter — said a livestream of the attack would be broadcast.
Facebook has removed the page and the video, but the video had already traveled.
At least 20 people remain in critical condition.
New Zealand was placed on ‘high alert’ following the terror attacks, the worst ever in the countries history.