Report sheds insight into mindset of Christchurch mosque attacker

By Aynur Seyma Asan

The Australian white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019 posted online that he "wanted to attack important places" about four years before the shootings.

The independent news website The Conversation shared a report this week analyzing the posts of the perpetrator, Brenton Tarrant, on the online forum 4chan.

As part of the report, researchers assessed the impact of the role of online environments in the "radicalization of lone terrorists" on Tarrant.

The report revealed that Tarrant said he wanted to attack people of different races in "important places" such as places of worship and schools in his posts.

The dates, times and locations of the posts were examined to identify Tarrant in his anonymous posts on the online forum.

In the New Zealand Royal Commission's report on the terrorist attacks published in 2020, Tarrant was quoted as saying that he did not use "far-right discussion sites.”

However, in the same report, it was stated that the attacker used the forums 4chan and 8chan, where "extreme right-wing" discussions took place.

Tarrant attacked the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019 during Friday prayers.

He rented a house in the city of Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island before the attacks and practiced at local shooting ranges before firing on Muslims praying at the two mosques with automatic weapons.

In the attacks, 51 people were killed, including women and children, and 49 people were wounded, including two Turkish citizens.

Tarrant, who broadcasted the attacks live on his social media account and advocated "white supremacy," was captured by police immediately afterwards.

He was sentenced in Christchurch High Court in 2020 to life imprisonment without parole after being convicted of 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one terrorism offense.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who reacted strongly to the attacks but never mentioned Tarrant’s name, said "today is one of the darkest days in New Zealand."

The Labor Party government led by Ardern, who supported Muslims in the country by ensuring that the next call to Friday prayer was read live on state television, passed a law banning semi-automatic military weapons in the country.

*Writing by Merve Berker