Whatever false modesty Tarrant might profess in the tedious manifesto ascribed to him, a quality shared universally by terrorists of all ilk is the desire to stand out from the crowd, to be seen-if only by themselves-as heroes and possibly martyrs. The very fact terrorists exploit people's interest in dramatic events should caution you against typing in that search string, and certainly against sharing it with others.įirstly, by doing so you'd be playing up to the narcissism of someone who couldn't come up with any more adequate way to generate renown than to massacre innocent people. (I'm looking at you, Google and YouTube-not to mention Facebook, which hosted the live stream to begin with.) And you don't even need to be on 8chan to stumble on the footage: Search engines' predictive search will actively encourage you to browse for it when you type a related term.
You don't need to be an 8chan denizen to be tempted by firsthand footage of an event dominating the news cycle, just as most people probably wouldn't look away if they came by the scene of an attack-or even a particularly bad accident-in real life. A small minority of us might be scanning the footage in desperate hope to establish the whereabouts of our loved ones.īut plenty of people are today looking at the Christchurch video for no real good reason-just because the draw of the drama and the apparent safety of viewing it from miles away, behind a computer screen. Some of us, like journalists and police, are professionally obliged to view distressing imagery to try to discern valuable new information, whether for investigation purposes or to better inform debate. Dozens of copies of what appears to be footage from a helmet-mounted camera are circulating on the darker corners of the internet and are being persistently posted on more mainstream platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, which don't always manage to catch the video before it goes up. President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences on Friday morning.Horrific videos like the one posted by the Christchurch mosque shooting suspect Brenton Tarrant are geared to appeal to the morbidly curious, and appeal it did. “Many of those affected may be migrants, maybe refugees.
“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” she said earlier. In a brief press conference Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the mass murder a “terrorist attack” and said the perpetrators held “extremist views” that have no place in New Zealand. The alleged shooter also live-streamed his attack on social media, gruesomely displaying how he entered the mosque and shot worshippers as they struggled to flee. Tarrant had no criminal record prior to Friday’s bloody attack. According to the Independent, Tarrant met with right-wing extremists while taking a trip to Europe in 2017, and also traveled to Pakistan and North Korea. Tarrant is an Australian-born former personal trainer who is believed to have been radicalized during his travels abroad. The manifesto also praises mass murderers Dylann Roof, who attacked a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, and Anders Breivik, who killed dozens of young people at a summer camp for Norway’s left-leaning political party. The rambling document espouses far-right and white nationalistic views, specifically targeting Muslims and immigrants. Police are also currently investigating a manifesto, which the 28-year-old suspect allegedly wrote and posted on social media shortly before the shooting began. One of those devices has been defused, and authorities are working to neutralize the other. Police said they also found two improvised explosive devices attached to one vehicle. One person died in the hospital, according to police.įriday is the Muslim holy day, when many practicing Muslims attend worship services at mosques. The shooter targeted two mosques in Christchurch: the Al Noor Mosque, where 42 people were killed, and another at the Linwood Mosque, where seven people died. Two other people remain in custody as police try to determine their connection to, or possible involvement in, the attack. In his first court appearance on Saturday morning, he flashed a white power sign: an upside-down “okay” gesture with his shackled hands. For continuing coverage on the Christchurch shooting, please visit Vox’s World section.Īt least 50 people were killed and 50 injured Friday in a mass shooting at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.Ī 28-year-old man named Brenton Tarrant has been taken into custody and charged with murder. As of Monday morning, this article is no longer being updated.
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