A suspected gunman behind the Christchurch attacks has dubbed the US president as ‘a symbol of renewed white identity’.
The Australian-born suspect who shot dead dozens of Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand, has published a manifesto citing US President Donald Trump and Anders Breivik, the Norwegian white supremacist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011.
The 74-page dossier by Brenton Tarrant, which has been described by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as a “work of hate”, praised Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose”.
The 28-year-old, who is now in police custody, also claimed that he had “brief contact” with Breivik and had received a “blessing” for his actions from the mass murderer’s acquaintances.
The dossier stated objections to immigration and multiculturalism, and decries the “decaying” culture of the white, European Western world.
Earlier on Friday, at least 49 people were killed and 20 others seriously wounded in shootings at two mosques in Christchurch in the worst attack in the Pacific country’s history.
The majority of the victims were shot at the Al Noor Mosque, while the rest were killed at another mosque in suburban Linwood.
The Muslim worshippers had congregated for Friday prayers, Islam’s holy day of the week.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has described the shootings as a “well-planned terrorist attack”, and said this is one of the country’s “darkest days”.
In addition to Tarrant, three other suspects, including a woman, have been arrested, New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said.
