The suspected gunman who killed dozens of worshippers inside two New Zealand mosques is an Australian man who reportedly posted a 74-page manifesto before the shooting which called Donald Trump a “symbol of white supremacy.”
According to Yahoo News, the alleged killer who live-streamed the attack identified himself as Brenton Tarrant. He claimed that to be motivated by “far-right extremism he saw in the United States to carry out the attack at Al Noor Mosque.”
The shooting left 49 people dead inside two mosques. Some 41 people were killed inside Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch, while several more were killed inside Linwood Masjid Mosque.
The suspect was captured and has been charged with murder. Three other people are also being held in custody, Yahoo News reports.
Someone using the username ‘Brenton Tarrant 9’ posted footage of the attack that “shows the gunman firing 205 times on men, woman and children and stopping only to reload his weapons.”
Tarrant also posted a link to his online manifesto to a now-deleted Twitter account and 8chan, an online forum where he spoke about his hatred for Muslim immigrants.
From Yahoo News:
In it, he says he was inspired by mass killer Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011. He also mentions Finsbury Park terrorist Darren Osborne as well as London mayor Sadiq Khan.
He also goes on to rail against mass immigration and said he views Donald Trump as a “symbol of renewed white identity”.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the shooter was Australian and described him as an “extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist”.
The manifesto included various questions and answers, one of which asked: “Who are you?”
The reply said: “Just a ordinary White man, 28 years old. Born in Australia to working class, low income family.
“My parents are of Scottish, Irish and English stock. I had a regular childhood, without any great issues. I had little interest in education during my schooling, barely achieving a passing grade.”
He added: “I am just a regular White man, from a regular family. Who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people.”
The manifesto said he carried out the attack “to show the invaders that our lands will never be their lands, our homeland are our own and that, as long as a white man still lives, they will NEVER conquer our lands and they will never replace our people,” Yahoo News reported.
With regard to planning the attack, he wrote: “I begun planning an attack roughly two years in advance and an attack at the location in Christchurch three months in advance.”
Because this can’t be overstated, the regular white man that murdered over 40 innocent people gathered together to pray was taken alive.