Twitter/Facebook Live Brenton Tarrant
A person who appears to be Australian white nationalist terrorist Brenton Tarrant explained what he planned to do on an 8chan forum chat thread before the mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques, according to an archive of the extremely disturbing thread reviewed by Heavy.
Other far-right users on the 8chan thread then appear to have watched the live video in real time, with some even applauding or egging the shooter on. Two referred to him by his real name. Some posted Nazi symbols. The Brenton Tarrant Facebook page where the live video first streamed is now deleted. “Godspeed… Can’t wait to see the news reports,” wrote one. “That video is so godd*mn good,” wrote another in the disturbing exchanges.
“Brenton Tarrant is a f*cking hero,” wrote one person who shared a picture of Hitler giving the Nazi salute.
What they were cheering on – even after watching the full video – was an extraordinarily disturbing scene. In the livestream video, the man who goes by the name Brenton Tarrant – later identified as a 28-year-old former fitness trainer from Australia – drives to the first mosque with a carload of rifles covered with the names of other mass shooters. You get a first-person vantagepoint as he appears to be wearing a GoPro device on his helmet.
A screenshot from the Brenton Tarrant video
He shoots someone in the doorway to the mosque, shoots a man trying desperately to crawl away and then guns down multiple people in a prayer room. The gunman then goes back to his car, gets another weapon, and goes back into the mosque, shooting wounded, helpless people clustered in a corner at close range. He then shoots a woman on a sidewalk as she pleads for help. It’s brutal, ruthless, emotionless, and horrific, a mass murder played out as coldly as it were a videogame.
Police say they have three people in custody. One appears to be Brenton Tarrant. They haven’t explained what alleged role the others might have played. The video only shows Tarrant. Authorities say he left a trail of at least 49 people dead at two mosques and another 20 injured. Some of the wounded included children. One of the first victims to be identified is Daoud Nabi; his son told NBC News that his dad heroically died while trying to shield another person. You can read a tribute to him here.
Copies of the full video are still available on the Internet. The 17-minute video is extremely disturbing. The New York Times also reported that “before the shooting, someone appearing to be the gunman posted links to a white-nationalist manifesto on Twitter and 8chan, an online forum known for extremist right-wing discussions. The 8chan post included a link to what appeared to be the gunman’s Facebook page, where he said he would also broadcast live video of the attack.”
In his manifesto, Tarrant says he received the blessing from a group called the “reborn Knights Templar” (after the Christian soldiers during the Crusades) and indicates he was inspired by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who also wrote a manifesto that talked about a reborn Knights Templar, although prosecutors thought Breivik made it up to inspire others. You can read more about Breivik and the so-called reborn Knights Templar here.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Person Appearing to Be Brenton Tarrant Posted a Final Message on 8Chan Saying He Would ‘Attack Against the Invaders’
The shooter aims through a door into another room
The message, posted before the shooting, read:
“Well lads, it’s time to stop sh*tposting and time to make a real life effort post. I will carry out and attack against the invaders, and will even live stream the attack via facebook. The facebook link is below, by the time you read this I should be going live. It’s been a long ride and despite all your rampant f*ggotry, fecklessness and degeneracy, you are all top blokes and the best bunch of cobbers a man could ask for. I have provided links to my my writings below, please do your part by spreading my message, making memes and shitposting as you usually do. If I don’t survive the attack, goodbye, godbless and I will see you all in Valhalla!”
The user then posted the gunman’s manifesto (which he also posted on Twitter). The rambling document contains diatribes against immigrants, Muslims, “invaders,” and so forth and urges violence to stop what he saw in his warped mind as “white genocide.”
Other 8Chan Users Then Applauded the Actions as They Unfolded, With Some Sharing Nazi Symbols
A screenshot from 8Chan
A whole community of far-right 8Chan users then applauded on the poster. “Godspeed anon,” wrote one of the first people responding to the above post. One used an anti Semitic slur for Facebook. Another person posted a drawing of Hitler and wrote, “Good luck sh*tposter. Rolling for many dead (racial slurs for Asians and blacks).”
Another comment writer then shared a link to the Facebook video and wrote, “holy lf*ck. OP f*cking delivered I just saw him kill so many f*cking (slur for Muslims).”
Another anonymous user wrote: “Someone better have f*cking recorded that sh*t, it was f*cking amazing.” Another wrote: “He’s the real deal….” People then shared copies of the video into the chat thread after watching it live.
You can read more about Brenton Tarrant here.