Australian gunman opens fire in Christchurch, NZ mosque

[Bill Moore]

Moderator adds: Thread created in case of posts as the situation calms and assuming more information will appear. I have been asked for comments already on the wider impact of a XRW lone wolf.Australian gunman opens fire in Christchurch mosque (ends).

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/gunman-opens-fire-in-christchurch-mosque/news-story/6f6ce5dc9db6cde5edf5ae778b6da368


The gunman has been confirmed to be Brenton Tarrant, 28, who wrote a 73-page manifesto declaring his evil intentions.


“I was a communist, then an anarchist and finally a libertarian before becoming an eco-fascist,” he wrote.

He claims to have had brief contact with Anders Breivik, who was a far-right terrorist who killed 69 members of a youth league summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utoya in 2011. He killed a further eight through a car bomb in Oslo.

[Bill Moore]

The article above stated four people were arrested and there may be more involved. The author noted several alt right groups in New Zealand that may be providing support. Via social media this Aussie nut job is now a new celebrity.

https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/christchurch-shooters-views-were-celebrated-online/10907056

Fuelled by a toxic, alt-right echo chamber, Christchurch shooter's views were celebrated online


One of the men suspected of carrying out a mass shooting in Christchurch published a manifesto that's now being circulated on alt-right forums, where his actions are being celebrated as part of a broader race war.


One of the gunmen, who identified himself as a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant, livestreamed on Facebook the shooting at the Al Noor Mosque.


The manifesto begins with the Dylan Thomas poem 'Do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light', and then describes a situation where 'European countries' including Australia and New Zealand are growing weaker because of their lower birth rates.

I can understand the anger that the recent mass and unmitigated migration generates. It is an asymmetric threat, but no less dangerous than a kinetic war to the existence of one's existing culture. To be clear, the alt-right and their narrative of hate alone are guilty of this atrocity. However, far left politicians who promote policies that threaten their own societies need to step back and reflect on the divisions their policies of so-called inclusion are generating. You can see signs of mounting anger in Europe, the U.S., and completely by surprise, at to me, in New Zealand and Australia. We have policies that are generating internal instability that may turn out to be a greater threat than any external actor.

[davidbfpo]

Created in case of posts as the situation calms and assuming more information will appear. I have been asked for comments already on the wider impact of a XRW lone wolf.

BBC News on the suspect(s) and the video of the attack being circulated:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47579243
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47583393

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47583393)

[davidbfpo]

Not a great deal of information revealed yet on what happened in Christchurch. The bravery of one Muslim who wrenched a firearm off the attacker, who then left and got into a car that was driven off. The (usual) allegations about a delayed police response, citing thirty minutes.

There is a mass of commentary on the use of a head-mounted video camera, with live broadcasting and the social media aspects. The political aspects get plenty of comment - invariably that some respectable, high profile politicians have been Islamophobic - and the lack of a law enforcement response to the extreme right.

The following is Professor Matthew Feldman, a XRW watcher via Twitter:
The most important thing to remember right now about the horrors in New Zealand is that a 3 year old was killed, along with scores of others, in a place of worship. Let us first focus on the victims. We are also conflating three different things, which I unpack in this thread
The first is anti-Muslim prejudice, which has broken out like a rash in Europe and beyond. It has become disgustingly normalised. It is usually non-violent, but that is a first step for all political violence. it is bigotry, and must be condemned by all citizens of good will. 2/
The second issue is self-directed or 'lone wolf' terrorism. Like all terrorism it is tactic that can be used by any ideology. But right-wing extremism has been at the forefront of this for several decades. It keys in with radical right thinking 3/
There is a 'superman' strand of thinking, based on social Darwinism, that sees one attacker setting off the 'race war'. These ideas are prevalent online, indicating a network of support for political violence. 'Lone wolf' terrorism is amongst the greatest security threats now 4/
The third aspect is how *we* deal with the fallout of a live-streamed, manifestoed act of savagery against innocents. That is a question for news outlets mainly, but responsibility in not fanning the flames rests with us all. Don't give the terrorist what he wants: exposure 5/
Now is not the time for political point scoring. This is a heart-rending tragedy, and we need joined up, evidence-based, long term responses to all 3: anti-Muslim hate; lone actor terrorism; and the fetishisation of suffering. Let us all be, and do, better for one another /Ends

So here are two articles. The first is by Jason Burke:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/15/what-does-christchurch-attack-tell-us-about-rightwing-extremism? (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/15/what-does-christchurch-attack-tell-us-about-rightwing-extremism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)

The second, is more polemical and critical of many politicians is by Medhi Hassan:https://theintercept.com/2019/03/15/new-zealand-shooter-manifesto/

[AdamG]

From his manifesto. Predictably, he's already getting the Pavlovian responses he intended to provoke.

https://i.imgur.com/n3iNg6c.png

[davidbfpo]

The BBC News have this on how the murders happened; at the Al Noor mosque he left and returned inside with a second weapon - killing forty-two.
Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47582183

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47582183)Within this report is a statement by the police commissioner:
Bush also addressed concerns that police took too long to respond to the massacre, saying officers were at the scene within six minutes of the first emergency call, and disarmed offenders within 10 minutes. Police apprehended the killer within 36 minutes. A woman apprehended at the scene was released without charge. Another 18 year-old man arrested in a vehicle had been charged with firearm offences unrelated to the terrorist attack.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/17/christchurch-attack-death-toll-rises-to-50-as-concern-grows-over-burial-delays

A second article by Jason Burke on the interplay between terrorism and technology. He ends with:
In Tarrant’s world, on his live stream, in his own mind and those of his followers, he is a warrior, a racial hero, a leader but also, in a wider contemporary sense, a celebrity, if only for a moment. In a terrible, twisted way, he is not wrong.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/17/technology-is-terrorisms-most-effective-ally-it-delivers-a-global-audience
(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/17/technology-is-terrorisms-most-effective-ally-it-delivers-a-global-audience)
There is a thread on this theme and in 2016 another terrorist, in France, in a live Facebook broadcast confessed to his murders (in the last post). See:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?23592-Terrorism-amp-Media-we-do-the-job-for-them

A Tweet from Facebook:
n the first 24 hours we removed 1.5 million videos of the attack globally, of which over 1.2 million were blocked at upload..

Some context on Christchurch, a city of 340k, which lost 20k inhabitants after the 2011 earthquake and the new residents. Plus the murderer drove 300kms to his target from Dunedin.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/16/christchurch-how-quiet-city-became-target-for-terror


(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/16/christchurch-how-quiet-city-became-target-for-terror)

[AdamG]

`Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).

From April 2014 -


A Christchurch mosque has been linked to the drone killing of New Zealand al-Qaida suspect Daryl Jones.

The parents of an Australian killed alongside Jones say their son was taught radical Islam in Christchurch, where he also met Mr Jones.

Christopher Havard was killed alongside Mr Jones by a US drone in Yemen last year.

His parents, Neill and Bronwyn Dowrick, say their son told them he was first taught radical Islam at the Al Noor mosque in Addington.

Mr Havard moved from Australia to New Zealand in 2010. He's remembered at the mosque by the name of Saleem Khattab.

"[He was] no different than other people," says mosque president Mohamed Jama. "He was a normal man."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/christchurch-mosque-linked-to-alqaida-suspect-2014060417

[davidbfpo]

No much more detail yet, although I note the NZ Police now have a joint group with the Australian police (New South Wales) and the FBI to look at the murderer's background.

There has been plenty of comment on the XRW and what the CT community should do next. Just whether there is political acceptance of the "breeding ground" for the XRW lies with hate speech, phobias and more, if occasional "mainstream" statements by political leaders - President Trump and Boris Johnson for two examples - is a very moot point IMHO.

Context and commentaries on the XRW. Starting with Raffaello Pantucci (RUSI):https://raffaellopantucci.com/2019/03/17/the-extreme-right-was-once-a-loose-group-of-loners-not-any-more/ and then an on-line issue of 'Perspectives on Terrorism' in late 2018, with several articles:https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/perspectives-on-terrorism/archives/2018#volume-xii-issue-6

Two former "insider" articles on what the CT community should do now. For the USA and may be others:https://www.lawfareblog.com/christchurch-shooting-domestic-terrorism-goes-international In the UK by a retired senior CT police leader:https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/03/how-the-police-should-deal-with-far-right-terrorism/

Perhaps some nations have a better "picture" and grip on the XRW. New Zealand and Australia appear not to be in that group, nor the USA. Some think the UK has moved along, in part due to banning one group and the Security Service (MI5) taking the lead in intelligence. The big difficulty for all is that the XRW may not operate in organized groups, so how do you target the really evil ones who are ready to act?

[AdamG]

Meanwhile, "Mission Accomplished" for Social Engineering at it's finest (see post 5, above).

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-seeks-quick-ban-nearly-all-semi-automatic-weapons-n985686

[davidbfpo]

A NZ newspaper article looks at the murderer's background:https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm? (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12215540)

[davidbfpo]

This post covers several topics so in a moment it will be copied to other threads on CT, lone wolves (inside the USA and beyond).

Bruce Hoffman has two articles on the rise of the extreme right as a threat.

The first is quite short and the second via WoTR is longer.

So No.1:https://www.cfr.org/article/how-serious-white-nationalist-terrorism and No.2:https://warontherocks.com/2019/04/back-to-the-future-the-return-of-violent-far-right-terrorism-in-the-age-of-lone-wolves/

Paul Gill, a UK-based academic writes on lone wolves after Christchurch:https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018689150/lone-actor-terrorists-a-behavioural-analysis

Raffaello Pantucci (RUSI) adds his commentary, which mainly applies to the UK:https://raffaellopantucci.com/2019/03/17/the-extreme-right-was-once-a-loose-group-of-loners-not-any-more/

Then Steve Metz on why lone wolves and a somewhat pessimistic viewpoint IMHO:https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-age-of-the-lone-wolf-terrorist/

A NYT graphic on the links between white extremists:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/03/world/white-extremist-terrorism-christchurch.html