Christchurch mosque shootings: Difference between revisions

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Christchurch mosque shootings
Part of Terrorism in New Zealand
Al Noor Mosque, June 2006
Location of Al Noor Mosque (left) and Linwood Islamic Centre (right)
Location	Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Coordinates	43°31′58″S 172°36′42″E / 43.5329°S 172.6118°E / -43.5329; 172.6118
Date	15 March 2019 1:40 p.m. (NZDT; UTC+13)
Target	Muslims
Attack type	Mass shooting[1]
Weapons	Two semi-automatic rifles, two shotguns, one bolt-action rifle, undetonated car bomb
Deaths	50 42 at Al Noor Mosque 7 at Linwood Islamic Center 1 later at Christchurch Hospital
Injured	50
Motive	Far-right extremism[2] Islamophobia[3][4]

The Christchurch mosque shootings were two consecutive terrorist mass shootings at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday prayers on 15 March 2019.^[5] The attacks killed 50 people and injured at least 50.^[6][7] The alleged perpetrator was arrested and charged with murder.^[8] The first attack was live streamed on Facebook Live.^[9]

The attacks began at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, a suburb of Christchurch, at 1:40 p.m. on 15 March 2019 and continued at the Linwood Islamic Centre^[10][11][12] at about 1:55 p.m.^[13] Early reports spoke of "a multiple, simultaneous attack",^[14] but later on only one suspect was charged in relation to the attack, on a charge of murder.^[15][16] The attack has been linked to the worldwide rise of racism and exteme right.^[17][18]

A gunman began shooting worshippers at the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue, Riccarton, at around 1:40 p.m. He was described in media reports as a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist who used neo-Nazi symbols.^[19][20] Between three to five hundred people may have been inside the mosque, attending Friday prayers, at the time of the shooting.^[21] A neighbour of the mosque told reporters that he witnessed the shooter flee the mosque and drop what appeared to be a firearm in the driveway while he fled.^[22] The neighbour said that the shooter appeared to be wearing military-style clothes. After the shooting ended, the neighbour went inside to help the victims.^[23]

The gunman live streamed the first 17 minutes of the attack on Facebook Live, starting with the drive to the mosque and ending with the drive away.^[24] Moments before the shooting, the perpetrator played both a traditional marching song of the British military called "The British Grenadiers" and "Serbia Strong", a Serb nationalist song from the Bosnian War (1992–1995) celebrating Radovan Karadžić, who was found guilty of genocide against Bosnian Muslims.^[25][26][27] Just before the shooting, the gunman appeared to be greeted by one of the worshippers, who said "Hello, brother" and was amongst the first people to be killed.^[23][28][29] The live streamed footage also showed that the gunman shot at other people in the area, before driving away,^[30] having spent about six minutes at the mosque.^[31] The footage stopped as he was driving along Bealey Avenue, heading in the direction of the Linwood Islamic Centre.^[31] Police were alerted to the shooting at 1:53 p.m.^[32]

A second shooting occurred at about 1:55 p.m.^[13] at the Linwood Islamic Centre,^[33][34] a mosque 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from Al Noor.^[23] Seven people were killed there.^[30]

The mosque's acting imam credited a worshipper named Abdul Aziz with stopping the attack before the gunman could enter the mosque; at that point, the gunman had already shot several people outside the mosque. Aziz related the following account in interviews: hoping to distract the gunman from attacking people in the mosque, he grabbed a credit card reader and ran out from the mosque shouting: "come here!" As the gunman retreated to his car, Aziz threw the machine at him. The gunman obtained another firearm and fired at Aziz, who took cover among the cars and retrieved an empty shotgun the gunman had dropped. Aziz's distraction tactic did not fully work as the gunman continued firing at the mosque. When the gunman returned to his car again, Aziz threw the shotgun and shattered a car window, causing the attacker to curse and drive away, despite Aziz's efforts to chase him.^[35][36][37]

The police found two improvised explosive devices attached to a car, which were subsequently defused by the New Zealand Defence Force.^[38]

No explosives were found on the gunman.^[39]

The attack killed 50 people—42 at Al Noor Mosque, seven at the Linwood Islamic Centre^[11] and one who died in Christchurch Hospital.^[30][40] The age range of the victims was 2 at the youngest, with the oldest being 71.^[41] From Police Commissioner Mike Bush's update, as of 10:00 a.m. on 17 March 2019, 50 people were injured, 36 people were being treated for gunshot wounds at Christchurch Hospital, two of whom were in a serious condition, with one child at Starship children's hospital in Auckland.^[6][7]

In the wake of the attacks, dozens of people remain missing^[42] and several diplomatic offices and foreign ministries released statements concerning the number of victims from their nations.^[43][44][45] The police have requested registration of missing people or those listed as missing identifying themselves to be safe be done online. A list of missing people has been published by New Zealand Red Cross, and includes nationals of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.^[46]

During the attack on Al Noor Mosque, Naeem Rashid charged at the gunman and was shot as a result; Rashid later died in hospital.^[47][48][49] Rashid emigrated from Pakistan in 2009.^[50] Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Rashid will be honoured with a national award.^[51]

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, is accused of carrying out the attack. He was arrested on Brougham Street^[52] by two "rural community" police officers 36 minutes after the first emergency call.^[53][54] Mobile phone footage showed his car had been rammed against the kerb by police before his arrest at gunpoint.^[55] Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that he had been planning to continue the attack.^[53]

The guns and magazines used were covered in white writing that named historical events, people, and motifs related to historical conflicts, wars, and battles between Muslims and non-Muslims and also the names of far-right attackers like Josué Estébanez and Luca Traini.^{[56][19][note 1]}

He appeared in the Christchurch District Court on 16 March, where he was charged with murder and remanded in custody.^[62] During his court appearance, he smirked at the media and made an inverted OK gesture.^[63] He did not enter a plea,^[62] and the case was transferred to the High Court, with his next appearance scheduled for 5 April 2019.^[64]

At the time of the attack, his place of residence was Andersons Bay, Dunedin. He had worked as a personal trainer in Grafton, New South Wales, from 2009 to 2011.^[65] He started visiting many countries in Asia and Europe around about 2012. Authorities in Bulgaria and Turkey are investigating his visits to their respective nations.^[66][67] He became obsessed with terrorist attacks committed by Islamic extremists in 2016 and 2017. He started planning an attack about two years prior to the attack and chose his targets three months in advance.^[68] Security officials suspect he had come into contact with far-right organisations about two years before the shooting while visiting European nations.^[69]

Part of a series on
Islamophobia
Issues Airport profiling United States Conspiracy theories Counter-jihad Eurabia Great Replacement Halal-related Love jihad Hijabophobia Netherlands France Karnataka, India Media Muslim immigration bans Orientalism Persecution Quran desecration
Status by country Australia Austria Belgium Bosnia–Herzegovina Canada China France Germany Iceland India Indonesia Israel Italy Myanmar Netherlands Norway Poland Russia [ru] Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Conservative Party United States Stereotypes
Examples Attacks on mosques: Al-Hidaya Al-Nurayn Bærum Babri Masjid Banya Bashi Bayonne Beit Lahia Bloomington Christchurch Corsica Escondido Gondar Hyderabad Ibrahim Kattankudy Kosovo Manili Malegaon Malmö 2009–10 Palimbang Quebec City Sweden (2014) Zürich Planned attacks California (2001) Singapore Genocide: Bosnian Ethnic cleansing Srebrenica Chechen and Ingush / Crimean Tatars Circassian Libyan Pacification of Algeria Palestinian genocide allegation Rohingya Massacres, torture, expulsion: Abu Ghraib (2000s) Albanians (1912–13) Assam (2014) Ayyadieh (1191) Baghdad (1258) Big Excursion (1989) Bossemptélé (2014) Bukovica (1943) Beirut (1975) Boyo (2021) Cave of the Patriarchs (1994) Granada (1482–92) Gujarat (2002) Guangzhou (878–79) Harmanli (1878) İşkodra and Niş (1877–78) Japan (1937–45) Jerusalem (1099) Karantina (1976) Kulen Vakuf (1941) Kafr Qasim (1956) Lasithi (1897) Mecca (600s) Moriscos (1609) Myanmar (2015) Nellie (1983) Northern Sri Lanka (1990) Norway (2011) Paris (1961) Sri Lanka (2018) Sabra and Shatila (1982) Šahovići (1924) Sétif and Guelma (1945) Shadian (1975) Sohmor (1984) Spain (1500–26) Walisongo (2000) Other incidents: Almondbury bullying incident Bendigo mosque protests Bulli Bai case / Sulli Deals CAA, 2019 Erklärung 2018 Flying imams incident Jerry Klein Haridwar hate speeches Hindutva pop Holy Terror Innocence of Muslims Jyllands-Posten cartoons Kathua rape case Muslim Massacre (video game) Quran desecrations 2005 2010 2011 2019–23 Serbia Strong Persecution of Uyghurs in China Xinjiang internment camps Swiss minaret ban Trojan Horse affair
Media Document.no FrontPage Magazine Jihad Watch OpIndia Politically Incorrect Rebel News Stormfront WikiIslam
Opposition Amnesty International CAIR Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism Human Rights Watch Islamophobia Watch Muslim American Society Muslims Condemn Southern Poverty Law Center Tell MAMA
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Tarrant recorded his beliefs in a 73-page manifesto titled "The Great Replacement", a reference to the Great Replacement and white genocide conspiracy theories.^[70][71] It expresses several anti-immigrant sentiments including hate speech against migrants, white supremacist rhetoric, and calls for all non-European immigrants in Europe who he claims are "invading his land" to be removed. The author also describes himself as an ethno-nationalist.^[58][72][73]

Nine minutes before the attacks, he emailed the manifesto to over 30 recipients, including the Prime Minister's office and several media outlets.^[74] He also shared links to the manifesto on Twitter and 8chan immediately before the attack.^[75][76] He said he began planning an attack two years earlier and chose the Christchurch location three months earlier.^[77] He stated that he targeted Muslims as a form of "revenge against Islam for 1,300 years of war and devastation that it has brought upon the people of the West and other peoples of the world".^[3][4][78]

The manifesto refers to U.S. president Donald Trump, with the author writing that he is a supporter of Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose" but not as a "policymaker and leader".^[79] In the manifesto he cites British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley as one of his political idols, and has called for the killing of the London mayor Sadiq Khan, German chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.^[80][81] The manifesto uses several neo-Nazi symbols like the Black Sun and the Odin's cross, despite the author's denial of being a Nazi.^[82] He said he had become an "eco-fascist" concerned with global warming,^[83][84][85] and he professed himself to be a "kebab removalist", in reference to a meme regarding the genocide of Bosnian Muslims by the Bosnian Serb army.^[20][86] The manifesto expressed support for Anders Behring Breivik, Luca Traini, Dylann Roof, Anton Lundin Pettersson, and Darren Osborne, asserting that they took a "stand against ethnic and cultural genocide".^[87]

The manifesto claims that the most important tipping point that led to the planning of the attack, was the death of 11 year old girl Ebba Akerlund during the 2017 Stockholm truck attack. Akerlund's name is inscribed on top of one of the gun barrels used in the shooting.^[88]

On the day of the attacks, authorities stated that four suspects were arrested.^[89][90][91] Two days after the attack, Police Commissioner Mike Bush stated that separate from the main suspect, the three other people arrested were not charged in relation to the attacks and did not appear to be involved in the attacks, although that was not the police's final conclusion. Police arrested a woman and a man after finding a firearm in a vehicle in which they were travelling together. The woman was released uncharged while the man was held in custody, charged with a firearms offence. An 18-year old man was arrested after he armed himself with the intention to "assist children in the area"; he will appear in court on 18 March 2019.^[16][92]

New Zealand Police responded to the incidents within minutes of the incident being reported.^[93] Authorities advised all mosques in the country to close until further notice and sent police to secure various sites in Christchurch.^[94] All Air New Zealand Link turboprop services departing Christchurch Airport were cancelled as a precaution, due to the absence of security screening at the regional terminal.^[95][96] In Dunedin, the Armed Offenders Squad searched a house and cordoned off part of the surrounding street in Andersons Bay after the shooter indicated on social media that he had originally planned to target the city's Al Huda Mosque.^[97]

St. John Ambulance confirmed in a media statement that approximately 20 resources were sent to the incidents.^[98] Survivors of the incidents were transported to nearby hospitals. A total of 48 people with gunshot wounds, including young children, were treated at Christchurch Hospital,^[99][100] with more being transported to other hospitals within Christchurch and nationally.^[101] In response to the crisis, Canterbury District Health Board activated its mass casualty plan.^[99]

The Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Co-ordination was convened to coordinate the government response. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was on public engagements in New Plymouth, returned to Wellington by air to receive official advice.^[102] For the first time in New Zealand history, the terrorism threat level was raised to high.^[91] Flags are also being flown at half-mast on all government buildings nationwide.^[103]

A number of schools near to the incidents were locked down in the wake of the event.^[90] School strikers at the Global School Strike rally in Cathedral Square, near the two attacks, were advised by police to either seek refuge in public buildings or go home.^[104][105] The University of Otago postponed its 150th anniversary street parade, which was scheduled for 16 March, in response to security concerns.^[106][107]

The third Test cricket match between New Zealand and Bangladesh, scheduled to be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 16 March, was cancelled because of security concerns.^[108] The Bangladeshi team were about to attend the Al Noor Mosque and were moments from entering the building when the incident began.^[109][110] The players then fled on foot to Hagley Oval.^[111] Two days later, Canterbury withdrew from their match against Wellington in the Plunket Shield cricket tournament.^[112] Likewise the Super Rugby match between the Crusaders, based in Christchurch, and Highlanders, based in Dunedin, due to be played the next day were cancelled as "a mark of respect for the events".^[113] Two concerts scheduled to be held in Christchurch on 17 March, by singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, and thrash metal band Slayer were also cancelled.^[114]

A Givealittle online fundraiser, started to support victims and their families, has so far raised over NZ$4.3 million.^[115][116] Together with other fundraisers, over $6.1 million were raised in total for the victims and their families.^[117] The Prime Minister also reiterated that those injured or killed in the shootings are entitled to cover under the country's accident compensation scheme (ACC).^[118][119]

The live stream was re-posted on many video streaming services including LiveLeak and YouTube.^[120] Police, Muslim advocacy groups and government agencies urged anyone who finds the footage to take it down or report it.^[121] Some media organisations in Australia and tabloid newspaper websites in the United Kingdom broadcast parts of the live stream, up to the point the gunman entered the building, despite pleas from New Zealand police not to show it.^[122][123] As a result, New Zealand's Sky Television temporarily pulled Sky News Australia off its channel offerings and stated they were working with Sky News Australia to prevent further displays of the video.^[124] New Zealand's Internet service providers have taken steps to block access to 8chan and other sites related to the attack.^[125]

More globally, social sites including Facebook, YouTube, Reddit and Twitter stated they were working diligently to remove the video of the attack from their platforms and would also remove anything supporting the attacks;^[126][127] Reddit banned subreddits named "WatchPeopleDie" and "Gore", claiming the threads had glorified the attacks in violation of user agreements.^{[128][129][130]}

Prime Minister Ardern called the incident an "act of extreme and unprecedented violence" and said "this is one of New Zealand's darkest days."^{[131][132][133]} She also described it as "a terrorist attack" and said that it appeared to have been well-planned.^[101] Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel stated that she never thought "anything like this" could happen in New Zealand, saying "everyone is shocked".^[101] Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, said she was "deeply saddened" by the attack.^[134]

Many other politicians and world leaders condemned the attacks,^[135] with many world leaders attributing the attack to rising Islamophobia.^{[136][137][note 2]}

Just before carrying out the attack the gunman said "remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie", referring to Swedish YouTube personality Felix Kjellberg.^{[171][172][173]} Kjellberg posted on Twitter: "I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person," and gave his condolences to those affected.^[172]

Gun laws in New Zealand came under scrutiny in the aftermath, specifically the legality of military-style semi-automatic weapons compared to Australia which banned them after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.^[174] As gun policy specialist Philip Alpers noted, "New Zealand is almost alone with the United States in not registering 96 percent of its firearms — and those are its most common firearms, the ones most used in crimes... If he went to New Zealand to commit these crimes, one can assume that the ease of obtaining these firearms may have been a factor in his decision to commit the crime in Christchurch."^[175][176]

Prime Minister Ardern announced: "Our gun laws will change, now is the time... People will be seeking change, and I am committed to that."^[175] Ardern continued by stating that "There have been attempts to change our laws in 2005, 2012 and after an inquiry in 2017. Now is the time for change."^[177] Attorney-General David Parker was later quoted as saying that the government will ban semi-automatic guns,^[178] but later walked back on this statement, saying that the government had not yet committed to anything and that regulations around semi-automatic weapons was "one of the issues" the government would consider.^[179]

• List of massacres in New Zealand
• List of Islamophobic incidents
• List of terrorist incidents in March 2019
• Quebec City mosque shooting
• Cave of the Patriarchs massacre

• Quotations related to Christchurch mosque shootings at Wikiquote
• Media related to Christchurch mosque shootings at Wikimedia Commons