A man named Brenton Tarrant used Facebook Live to record himself as he shot up a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand Friday (Mar. 15).
While police haven’t released the name of the shooter, a video showing a gunman opening fire at the Al Noor Mosque was published on the page of a man named Brenton Tarrant.
#BREAKING: Man allegedly involved in mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand live-streamed shooting rampage on Facebook; still frames are from video I obtained moments ago. pic.twitter.com/Uw7alIXsgr
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) March 15, 2019
Footage emerges allegedly showing #shooting rampage at #ChristchurchMosque massacre Witness describes '20-minute' shootout in Christchurch #Mosque Man who identified himself as #BrentonTarrant, 28, of #Australia filmed self just before live streaming mass shooting pic.twitter.com/26cDz2gw3s
— sudhakar (@naidusudhakar) March 15, 2019
The extremely disturbing Facebook live video, filmed in the style of a first-person role-playing shooter game (like Call of Duty), shows a man walking toward the mosque through a gate, and then up to the front door. You can see him pointing the gun at the door and he starts shooting.
Once inside, the man then walks past a dead body as screams erupt before he opens fire again, shooting several more people in a hall and then walking into a larger communal area where he shoots more people.
The gunman stalked the mosque rooms, firing repeatedly and stopping several times to re-load as bodies lay crumpled on the ground. You can see writing on the gunman’s rifle as he walks around randomly shooting people.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the live stream went on for about 17 minutes.
Gossip On This watched a small portion of the footage (though we are choosing NOT to post it here) and it matches earlier reports that the gunman taped the attack. Police also confirmed that they were aware of the footage.
Witnesses reported hearing 50 shots and described the scene as having “blood everywhere.”
At least 49 people were killed in the attack and dozens others were injured.
“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said in a press conference, calling the shooting “an unprecedented act of violence.”
The shooting took place around 1:40 p.m. local time on Friday.
Friday is the Muslim holy day, when many practicing Muslims attend worship services at mosques.
Sadly, the shooting at the Al Noor Mosque wasn’t the only one. There are reports that a gunman (or gunmen) opened fire at the Linwood Mosque in the suburb of Linwood.
Police said they found improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles that bomb squads were able to defuse.
Four people—three men and one woman—were reportedly taken into custody in the hours following the attack, but police haven’t released their names.
The shooter in the video, believed to be a 28-year-old Australian resident, also uploaded a manifesto online (which has since been deleted) and posted photos of weapons to Twitter (above) along with anti-Muslim rants about birthrates and white genocide.
All mosques in the country have were asked to “shut their door” until further notice.
Residents in the city were asked to remain indoors and a number of climate change rallies taking place across the city were evacuated.
All schools and city council buildings in the area were also placed on lockdown.
