Warning: violent content ahead
The incident:
Earlier this Friday morning, 49 innocent unarmed Muslims, including elders, women, and children were murdered in mosques, their places of prayer, by mass shooters, in addition to 20 seriously injured.
The suspect planned this crime on Friday morning, since mosques are the fullest at that time because of Muslims' Friday prayer.
Live broadcast:
The incident was even broadcasted live on Facebook, the horrible terrifying footage spread widely on social media and the websites are still struggling to remove the video and keep it from spreading, shows how poor their management of harmful content on their sites is.
The manifesto:
Just before the attack, an account believed to belong to the gunman posted a link to an 87-page white nationalist manifesto online. The unsigned manifesto is filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments, as well as explanations for an attack.
In the manifesto, he identifies himself as a white man, born in Australia, and lists the white nationalists who have inspired him.
In addition, the manifesto's language highly mimics that of ISIS and Al-Qaeda writings, except that he took it from an extremist crusader's perspective, saying the attack was carried out by the "Reborn Knights of Templar", and his messages were to unleash chaos and wars between peoples.
Democrats' reactions:
Many Democrats expressed their feelings of grief and sent their condolences to the friends and families of the victims, these Democrats included Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, and most importantly, Donald Trump.
William and Kate, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have said they have all spent time in Christchurch and its "open-hearted and generous" people.
They condemned the violence on the Muslim community, calling it "horrifying assault on a way of life that embodies decency, community, and friendship."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the terror attack in New Zealand and vowed to work with the country "to take action against violent extremism."
Here's what he said in a statement:
"To the people of New Zealand and to Muslim communities around the world: You are in our hearts and minds. We join in your grief and stand with you at this incredibly difficult time."
Trudeau also said the world must "recognize diversity as a source of strength, and not a threat."
"We must all confront Islamophobia and work to create a world in which all people—no matter their faith, where they live, or where they were born—can feel safe and secure," he said.
The witnesses:
One of the witnesses prayed the shooter would run out of bullets, but unfortunately, the shooting continued for 15 minutes.
Another witness who was passing by the mosque saw a man who's been shot in the leg and a father with his injured 4-year-old daughter begging for an urgent ambulance, the witness quickly gave them an instant ride to the nearest hospital.
FBI ready to help:
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that they are "ready to help" in this situation in any way possible, "The FBI stands ready to assist our New Zealand law enforcement partners." they said.
The FBI has special agents posted in the region, including in Canberra, Australia.
The FBI normally becomes involved in a non-American investigation only at the invitation of a foreign country, it's not clear whether this is the case in this situation.
In addition, many countries of the world have reinforced their security on mosques to prevent any further attacks, claming "nobody should be afraid to practice their religion in their worshipping places"
How you can help:
CNN's Impact Your World is vetting organizations where you can donate to those affected.
One of them is the New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups. It has launched a crowdfunding campaign to collect funds helping victims of the attack and their families.
You can find these organizations (and soon-to-be-vetted ones) here:
My opinion:
This is why white supremacists and Islamophobes shouldn't be treated like everyone else, they need to be given mental therapy and they need to be schooled from zero, why does color, religion, and origin matter when the thoughts of killing innocents is okay to have? You have no right to hate a group just because a tiny percentage of them commited unacceptable crimes and actions, that's a serious mental illness that leads to several hate crimes such as this one, many of those mentally ill people wouldn't hesitate to commit this same crime if they were allowed to or if there were no consequences.
You don't fight hate with hate, you're just adding to the fire.
If you want to hate for no reason and stay ignorant, fine, there's no changing the purposeless grudge in your head, but just like we don't shove our religion in your face, don't shove your hate in our faces, especially in the form of BULLETS.
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