Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LITTLE ANGEL.. TO MASS KILLER
49 murdered at prayer by evil far-right Aussie, 28
POLICE were last night probing how a hard-working fitness trainer turned into a far-right mass murderer.
After Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, shot dead 49 Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand, one pal said: “I think something must have changed during his years travelling.”
A photo has emerged of Tarrant as a child with his dad.
WITH the shockwaves of Brenton Tarrant’s murderous mosque rampage reverberating around the world yesterday, police were trying to fathom how he became so consumed with rage.
A photo released of the killer as a child in the arms of his late father show an angelic boy who associates said was a likeable and dedicated personal trainer running free athletic programmes for kids.
But there was none of that compassion on display yesterday as he shot dead 49 innocent Muslims as they worshipped and left 48 others, including children, injured during his 50-minute bloodbath in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Last night, three-year-old Mucad Ibrahim and a father called Haji-daoud Nabi were still missing.
Tarrant even live-streamed the gruesome attack on two mosques to social media. It ended when a heroic worshipper disarmed him and he fled.
Tarrant could later be heard complaining he did not stay long enough to “burn the mosque to the ground”. The twisted racist had the names of places and people he claimed to be carrying out the atrocity for.
One was Rotherham, where large-scale child grooming by Muslim Asian gangs took place in the 80s. He said wanted to avenge “thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders”.
Before the cowardly attack, Australian Tarrant – who was inspired by white supremacist Anders Breivik and Charleston church killer Dylann Roof – posted a 74-page manifesto describing himself and his plan.
He said: “Just an ordinary White man, 28 years old. Born in Australia to a working class, low income family. My parents are of Scottish, Irish and English stock.
“I had a regular childhood, without any great issues. I had little interest in education during my schooling, barely achieving a passing grade. I am just a regular White man, from a regular family, who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people.”
Tarrant had travelled through Europe and Asia in 2011 before ending up in New Zealand.
He said he chose to carry out the horrific murders there to show “nowhere in the world was safe” and that “even in the remotest areas there was nowhere left to go that was safe and free from mass immigration”.
A former colleague of Tarrant’s in Australia said: “He was a very dedicated personal trainer.
“I think something must have changed in him during the years he spent travelling overseas.
“I honestly can’t believe that somebody I have probably had daily dealings with and had shared conversations and interacted with would be capable of something to this extreme.” She also told how Tarrant’s father, Rodney, died from an asbestos-related illness when the killer was finishing secondary school, and that he has a surviving mother and sister.
Tarrant claimed in his manifesto to have had “brief contact” with Breivik, saying the Norwegian mass killer gave his “blessing” for his attack.
He added: “I have read the writings of Dylann Roof and many others, but only really took true inspiration from Knight Justiciar Breivik.” Tarrant, who grew up in the small city of Grafton in New South Wales – which has a population of 19,000 – claimed he began plotting the attacks on Muslims two years ago and chose the targeted location three months ago.
His rampage started in the Al Noor Mosque at around 1.40pm local time, 12.40am UK time. He killed 41 people there and gunned down another eight at nearby Linwood Masjid Mosque.
In his video he can be seen dressed in army fatigues while mercilessly firing at men, women and children scrambling to flee.
Worshipper Ramzan Ali said: “He just came in and was shooting. I didn’t
I honestly can’t believe he would be capable of something to this extreme FORMER COLLEAGUE ON TIME SHE WORKED WITH TARRANT AS TRAINER
see him, I was just lying down on the bench thinking, ‘If I get up I’ll get shot’.
“The blood was splashing on me and I thought, ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen to me now?’”
Witness Len Peneha added: “I saw dead people everywhere.” Jill Keats, 66, who was driving past the mosque, said: “All of a sudden people started falling, one fell to the left of my car and one fell to the right.”
Two jerry cans of petrol were seen in the back of Tarrant’s car as he filmed himself changing weapons.
He was heard saying: “I left one full magazine back there. There wasn’t even time to aim there were so many targets.”
Tarrant’s rampage ended at 2.30pm when he was bundled to the ground by a man who takes care of the mosque.
Witness Syed Mazharuddin said: “He saw an opportunity and pounced and took his gun. The hero tried to chase and he couldn’t find the trigger. He ran behind him but there were people waiting for him in the car and he fled.”
A police officer was also hailed a hero after being filmed pulling a suspect from a car during a roadside arrest. Police Commissioner Mike Bush described the twin attacks as a “very well-planned event”.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the incident as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”. World figures, including Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, the Queen and American president Donald Trump, condemned the attacks. Tarrant was charged with murder and is expected in court today. Four suspects –three men and a woman – were originally arrested before one was released. The average annual murder rate in New Zealand from 2007-17 is 47, less than the number killed in yesterday’s massacre.
I have read Dylann Roof’s writings but only really took inspiration from Breivik BRENTON TARRANT IN HIS MANIFESTO BEFORE LAUNCHING MOSQUES RAMPAGE
But darkness descended after a fanatic slaughtered worshippers at two mosques.
Any terrorism is horrific but it is especially abhorrent in a house of prayer.
A country of contentment is now a country in grief as it mourns so many innocents.
These shootings show how the cancer of the far right has spread to every corner of the globe.
Muslims are increasingly under threat as a network of activists use social media to spread their vile and poisonous propaganda.
The blame for any act of terrorism lies with the terrorist. Yet they take succour from politicians whose language and actions feed a culture of intolerance and resentment.
When Donald Trump failed to condemn white supremacists after the deadly Charlottesville attack, and when Boris Johnson poked fun at women wearing the niqab, they fanned the flames of Islamophobia.
There is a better way. New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern yesterday placed a protective arm around her nation’s migrant communities. “They are us,” she said.
We must all to do the same.
If we want to halt the march of the far right we must challenge those who peddle hatred and stand with those who are under threat.