In New Zealand, 49 people have died in a brutal act of violence. The New Zealand government refers to it as terrorism. One of the shooters called out in a Facebook livestream before the act: “Subscribe to PewDiePie.”
As reported by Spiegel, two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, were attacked by armed shooters. This happened at 1:45 PM New Zealand time – which was 1:45 AM here.
In a mosque in downtown Christchurch, more than 300 worshippers were present. An eyewitness described one shooter as a white man wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest. He shot into the crowd with an automatic weapon.
According to the government, 49 people have lost their lives. 48 people are being treated for gunshot wounds in various hospitals.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern referred to it as “a well-planned terrorist attack.” The shooters were not on any terrorist lists.
- Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the attack in the strongest terms, stating it was “an attack carried out by right-wing, violent terrorists.”
The police have arrested three men and one woman.
Shooter streamed live on Facebook
As Kotaku Australia reports, one of the shooters streamed the attack live on Facebook. In the first minutes of the stream, he said: “Remember lads, subscribe to Pewdiepie.”
It is believed that he was a 28-year-old Australian. The man reportedly promoted the livestream on the messaging board 8chan beforehand.
He said there: “Please do your job and share my message, make memes, and your postings as usual.”
The world reports that the man published a far-right manifesto before the act and then streamed for 17 minutes with a body cam.
Facebook and Twitter have since blocked the material.
The YouTuber Pewdiepie has since commented on the horrific incident in a statement on Twitter.
He is absolutely sickened that his name was uttered by this person. His thoughts and heart are with the victims and their families.
What lies behind “Subscribe to Pewdiepie”: This is a kind of advertising campaign for Pewdiepie in recent weeks.
It is about who has the largest YouTube channel in the world: For years, it has been Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg, a Swedish YouTuber.
However, the Indian record label, T-Series, is getting closer to him in YouTube subscriptions.
There have been a series of actions under the motto “Subscribe to Pewdiepie,” with which PewDiePie himself and supporters wanted more subscribers for Kjellberg’s YouTube channel.
