FBI tipped off police about online threats

A young man who had talked online about the Christchurch mosque shooter’s video told others he worshipped the gunman and wanted to complete his mission.

The teenager received the video after the shooting, and downloaded it to his computer. Over Facebook, he also said the shooter was his hero and he admired his work. ‘‘My purpose is to recruit people and to complete . . . [the shooter’s] mission.’’

In November last year, the 15-year-old was picked up online by the FBI in the United States talking about a mass shooting attack he was planning with another user he was talking with, and claiming it would be New Zealand’s second mass murder.

He said they had chosen a date for it.

US authorities feared there was an imminent risk, and made a request for the IP address to show where the people were located. One was the youth at his Porirua home.

He had shared the file with others, had made disparaging comments about Muslims and Arabs, and had made short video clips from the file on his cellphone.

The youth – who cannot be named under Youth Court rules – had been charged with possessing and copying objectionable material.

A third charge of possession of a firearm was withdrawn by Youth Court judge Mary O’Dwyer at the police’s application.

The judge discharged him in the Hutt Valley Youth Court yesterday, saying she remembered him coming to court frightened and anxious.

A discharge in the Youth Court means there is no record of a conviction.

The teenager’s lawyer, Louise Sziranyi, said he had made huge strides and was now in a very different place. ‘‘He has also learnt there is more to life than living on the internet.’’

The youth had written a letter of apology, had done a special project around the world of the internet, and was getting a lot of support, along with help from doctors, Sziranyi said.