On Friday, 15 March morning, a gunman opened fire in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing multiple people in a mass shooting that New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called "an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence." He, and reportedly three others, targeted two mosques in the city, killing a total of 49 people and injuring at least 20 others.
One of the gunman, who uploaded a live video of his rampage, has been identified as 28-year-old Australian citizen Brenton Tarrant.
Twitter has taken down his profile, but screenshots remain.
His Facebook account too, has been taken down.
In his 73-page manifesto, the white supremacist called himself a supporter of US President Donald Trump “as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose”, but not as a policy-maker or leader.
He goes on to say that the aim of the terror attack was to take revenge against the people he calls “invaders”, meaning immigrants from Islamic nations – ironic, as white Australians themselves have been called invaders and colonisers by the Australian Aborigines, who were killed in large numbers when the British settled there.
A Two-Year Plan
Introducing himself in the document, he says that he was born in Australia and that his parents are of "Scottish, Irish and English stock".
He claimed he had been planning the attack for around two years.
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