Armed police guard the Masjid Al Noor, Deans Ave Mosque in Christchurch after the March 15 attacks. Photo / Michael Craig
Armed police guard the Masjid Al Noor, Deans Ave Mosque in Christchurch after the March 15 attacks. Photo / Michael Craig
A disturbing video has emerged on social media of a group of girls, teens and women paying tribute to the man accused of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
Last night the Herald became aware of a video on Twitter of a group of women, girls, and teens overseas who appeared to be applauding the gunman's actions. One child even asks him to marry her.
The Herald has chosen not to publish the video.
It features six segments of different people sharing their thoughts on the murder-accused, and has been shared and liked hundreds of times.
The first people in the video are three young girls with Australian accents.
A student pays his respects at a park outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch three days after the March 15 shootings. Photo / AP
"We both think you're amazing, we watched the entire 17 minutes, we think you're great," said the last teens in the video, referring to the fact the attack was livestreamed for 17 minutes.
One woman appears in the video saying "God bless [the gunman]".
However, it now seems she had no idea who he is or who she was praying for.
A video shows the woman doing a bible study livestream when she receives a message asking for her to pray for the "friend" of someone watching.
"Somebody just asked for prayer on the YouTube," she says, about 19 minutes into her bible study stream.
"What's your friend's name and what do they want prayer for? I'll pray for them."
She then prays for the accused gunman, clearly reading his name from a message sent to her.
The Chief Censor's office has classified the March 15 livestream footage objectionable under the Films, Video and Publications Classifications Act.
Chief Censor David Shanks has officially classified the full 17-minute video of the fatal Christchurch shootings which occurred on Friday 15 March, as "objectionable" - meaning it is banned.
That raises the prospect of a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 14 years' jail for anyone who shares the clip.
It is an offence to share the material as soon as it is produced, and the timing of the official classification does not affect the ability for police and enforcement agencies to prosecute offences under the Films, Videos & Publications Classification Act 1993, Shanks says.
Social media giant Facebook has been widely condemned for failing to detect the livestream on its platform and being too slow to prevent it being further shared.
