The Australian terrorist who livestreamed a mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand told his viewers to ‘subscribe to PewDiePie’ before launching his attack.
A video shot by the gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, shows him mentioning the Swedish YouTube star moments before the massacre at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.
The shooter, 28, killed 41 people inside the mosque during Friday prayers. 49 people were killed in total during the terror attack, with a further 48 injured.
PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, took to Twitter this morning to say he was ‘sickened’ that the terrorist had said his name.
Kjellberg, who is the highest paid Youtuber in the world, said: ‘Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch.
The Australian terrorist who livestreamed his attack on a New Zealand mosque told viewers to ‘subscribe to PewDiePie’ (pictured)
The Swedish Youtuber took to Twitter today to say that he was ‘absolutely sickened’ that the white supremacist had mentioned his name in the video
‘I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person.
‘My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.’
Kjellberg, who has nearly 90 million subscribers, shot to fame recording video game playthroughs with hilarious commentary.
Tarrant told viewers ‘remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie’ as he sat in his car outside the mosque before the attack.
The terrorist’s turn of phrase appears to be a reference to numerous Youtubers who end their videos by saying ‘don’t forget to like and subscribe’.
PewDiePie’s fans were quick to absolve him of the blame for the shooting, which is the deadliest in New Zealand’s history.
Colin Moriarty said: ‘You had nothing to do with the tragedy that has unfolded, nor did you ask for your name to be invoked by a crazy, violent person.
‘Every individual is responsible for his or her own actions. Be well.’
Another user added: ‘If anyone ever says that you’re involved in this in any way, they’re just as braindead as the culprits.’
One fan tweeted: ‘Please don’t blame yourself or anything like that man, anyone with a brain knows it has nothing to do with you.’
Tarrant, pictured, named a number of individuals in both his livestream and 74-page manifesto. He identified himself as a Donald Trump supporter and said conservative activist Candace Owens was his biggest influence
Thousands of the Youtuber’s fans replied to his tweet to absolve him of blame in the tragedy, which was New Zealand’s worst ever terror attack
The white supremacist shooter has named a number of individuals in both his livestream and 74-page manifesto.
Tarrant identified himself as a Donald Trump supporter, as he ‘is a symbol of renewed white identity’, and said conservative activist Candace Owens was his biggest influence.
PewDiePie has been criticized in the past for using racist slurs.
Back in September 2017, he shouted ‘What a f****** n*****’ while playing online shooting game Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds.
Months before, he was dropped from Disney’s Maker Studios after paying two Indian men to hold up a sign which said ‘death to all Jews’.
Tarrant was one of four people arrested over the dual mosque attacks today. Around the same time as the attack at the Al Noor mosque, a second was launched at Masjid mosque in Linwood, where seven more were killed.
Early reports indicated a shooting at Christchurch Hospital. However, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the mosques were the lone targets.
She did confirm multiple bombs were attached to two cars belonging to the suspects near the mosque. The explosives were disarmed before they could detonate.
Of the 49 fatalities, 41 were killed at the Al Noor Mosque and seven at the Linwood Avenue mosque. Three were outside the mosque itself. A 49th died in hospital.
PewDiePie has been criticized in the past for using racist slurs. Back in September 2017, he shouted ‘What a f****** n*****’ while playing online shooting game Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds
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