The author of the manifesto identifies himself as a 28-year-old man born in Australia. The video and Twitter posts showed weapons covered in the names of past military generals and men who have recently carried out mass shootings. Kjellberg, who has been criticized for anti-Semitism over skits that he called satirical, said on Twitter that he felt “absolutely sickened” that the gunman had mentioned him. “We’re also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we’re aware.”īefore the shooting began, the gunman made a winking reference to an internet meme, telling viewers to “subscribe to PewDiePie,” a reference to the Swedish YouTube star Felix Kjellberg. “We quickly removed both the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video,” Mia Garlick, a Facebook representative, said in a statement. Hanif said the two mosques in Christchurch had asked for help from Muslims across the country to arrange the 49 funerals they would need to plan.įacebook said it was alerted by the police shortly after the livestream started. Some have posted that they are safe, but others have not.” “We don’t know if they’re at the hospital or out of reach. “Nobody’s answering their phones,” she said. Nasreen Hanif, a spokeswoman for the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand, said people were anxious for updates and were worried that friends or family members were among the dead. She added that New Zealand was likely targeted “because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it.” For many, New Zealand was their choice, the place that they chose to come to and committed themselves to, the place they chose to raise their families.” “For many this may not have been the place they were born. “Christchurch was the home of these victims,” she said. Ardern said that many of the victims were most likely migrants to New Zealand or refugees. The 8chan post included a link to what appeared to be the gunman’s Facebook page, where he said he would soon broadcast live video of the attack.īut it was not immediately clear whether the name on the page was that of the suspect, and the authorities declined to comment. The document named both mosques, and links to it were posted on Twitter and 8chan, an online forum known for hosting message boards with extremist right-wing discussions. The manifesto had appeared online minutes earlier.
The shootings were first reported at about 1:40 p.m., around the time of the midday Friday prayer, when the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Mosque, about three miles east, would be most busy.
New Zealand’s police commissioner, Mike Bush, said three other individuals found near the scene with weapons were also taken into custody, though investigators later said that one probably had nothing to do with the attacks.
The authorities urged residents to stay indoors, asked mosques to close and cleared nearby Cathedral Square, where people had gathered as part of worldwide protests to demand action on climate change. Schools in the downtown area were locked down for hours after the attacks as the police tried to determine whether the gunman acted alone. “This is and will be one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” Ms. The police also said they seized several weapons and found two explosive devices on a vehicle. The police said a man in his late 20s was arrested and charged with murder but declined to identify him. In addition to those killed, at least 48 people were being treated for gunshot wounds, including young children, the authorities said. Harrowing first-person footage, apparently from a camera worn by a gunman as he attacked the Al Noor Mosque in the center of the city, was streamed on Facebook - a grim milestone in the evolution of terrorism that raised questions about how tech companies can block extremists from using social media to spread hate and inspire violence.įacebook said it quickly shut down the account, but a 17-minute video showing a man dressed in black shooting at fleeing worshipers and into piles of bodies with a semiautomatic rifle circulated widely online. The massacre, which Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, condemned as a terrorist attack and called “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” interrupted a day of prayer for a small immigrant community in the nation’s third-largest city and shook a country with little history of mass shooting. WELLINGTON, New Zealand - At least 49 people were killed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a horrific and methodical afternoon slaughter, part of which was broadcast live on the internet after the publication of a white supremacist manifesto online.
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