Jihadis are reacting to the March 15, 2019 mass shooting in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, in which at least 49 people were killed in attacks at two mosques in the center of the city. Several suspects have been arrested in connection with the shootings, including 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, according to media reports. The attack was apparently streamed live on social media, and jihadis circulated snippets from these videos in their posts.
Below are sample jihadi reactions posted on social media following the attack:
Telegram
On the pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel Abu Abdallah, a post shared a video from the attack, reportedly showing the attacker killing an injured Muslim woman on the street outside the mosque moments before he is seen getting into his getaway vehicle and leaving the scene. The post reads: "The unbeliever killed a Muslim woman and ran over her before killing our brothers in the mosque. Where is revenge, O zealous [Muslims]? By Allah, if we don't do anything, there is no good in us...enough slumber [for] what we will tell Allah..."
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A post shared on the pro-Al-Qaeda AQIS Telegram group referred to the "massacres of New Zealand mosques" as a clear manifestation of the "Crusader wars" against Muslims, which, it says, are carried out by the "language of blood." It called for equal retaliation: "The language of blood is not confronted with the language of surrender...and peaceful calls and slogans of tolerance and peace, but with the language of blood..."
A post on the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel Al-Asyaf Al-Baghdadi called on ISIS supporters to head to social media to call for attacks against Christians. Using the Arabic hashtag #New_Zealand_Attack, the post read: "Oh supporters of monotheism, Oh supporters of the Muslim State (i.e. ISIS), enter Facebook and Twitter and call for the spilling of the blood of the cross worshippers [i.e. Christians] and the grandchildren of monkeys and pigs [i.e. Jews] to avenge Allah's religion and the blood of Muslims which has been spilled and continues to be spilled at their hands in Al-Baghouz [Syria], and, today, inside the mosques in New Zealand."
The pro-ISIS Telegram channel Rahel (@Rae_ll) posted a photo showing a gun, an ISIS flag and a suicide belt with various messages written on them, threatening the people of New Zealand with retaliation. Several items had the date March 15, 2019 written on them. Among the messages written were: "Retaliation is coming soon" and "You have opened the gates of hell on your island [i.e., New Zealand]." The photo appears to be a response to photos of the New Zealand shooter's graffiti-covered weapons, which highlighted historic figures and names known for "victories" against Muslims.
