“New Zealand Police alerted us to a video on Facebook shortly after the livestream commenced and we removed both the shooter’s Facebook account and the video. In a statement, a spokesperson for Facebook New Zealand, Mia Garlick, said the footage was quickly taken down. In New Zealand, commentators expressed concern that the horror would sow deep divisions in a society that has largely avoided the polarizations that have spread elsewhere.Ī police officer secures the area in front of the Masjid al Noor mosque. The brazen nature of of the broadcast, and the tech companies’ failure to prevent its proliferation online, raised profound questions about the nature of internet radicalization. We are working to have any footage removed,” New Zealand police said. “We would strongly urge that the (video) link not be shared. Police said they were aware of a video shared online and broadcast live during the attack, which apparently shows a gunman walking into a mosque and opening fire. But in a social media post just before the shooting began, an account believed to be linked to the gunman posted a link to an 87-page manifesto that was filled with anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim ideas and explanations for an attack. The report also found that the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, the domestic spying agency, had chosen to concentrate scarce counter-terrorism resources on the threat of Islamist extremist terrorism inspired by groups like the Islamic State at the expense of other threats.ĭespite the shortcomings of various agencies, the report concludes, there was no plausible way Tarrant’s plans could have been detected “except by chance.Attack apparently broadcast live on social mediaĪuthorities declined to discuss the potential motives behind the attack. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said that in deciding whether Tarrant was “fit and proper” to hold a gun license, “we could have done more to consider whether the two referees knew the individual well enough to serve as referees.” Vetting officers interviewed Tarrant and the referees, and recommended he be given his license. He gave them the name of a friend he knew mostly online from gaming together, along with that friend’s father. Health authorities also wrote that Tarrant was taking unprescribed steroids and injecting testosterone after he was treated for abdominal pain, but they didn’t report that to the police either.Īs part of the process for getting a gun license, Tarrant was required to provide to police the names of two people who could speak to his good character. The hospital registrar said the accident appeared to be careless and “a little unusual” but otherwise didn’t set off alarm bells. He got government compensation for his injury, which wasn’t reported to the police. In 2018, Tarrant was treated at Dunedin Hospital for injuries to his right eye and thigh after telling doctors he accidentally fired a gun while cleaning it at his apartment, the report says. Tarrant told investigators that although he frequented extreme right-wing discussion boards on websites like 4chan and 8chan, he found YouTube a far more significant source of information and inspiration.Īrdern said she planned to speak to the leaders at YouTube “directly” about how the gunman had become inspired by videos on the site. Yet when needed, Tarrant could present himself to others in a way that didn’t arouse suspicion. The report said he only had superficial interactions with people at a gym and the rifle club where he practiced rapid-fire shooting. He moved to New Zealand in 2017 and focused on planning for his attack. He visited dozens of countries around the world, including India, China, Russia, North Korea and many countries in Africa and Europe. The gunman worked for about three years as a personal trainer at a gym in the Australian town of Grafton, but stopped working after an injury and then used his inheritance to live and travel. His father, Rodney, was diagnosed with lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos and in 2010 killed himself at home, leaving an inheritance of 457,000 Australian dollars ($339,000) to Tarrant. He put on a lot of weight as a teenager before starting to exercise compulsively at gyms and going on a diet, losing about 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |