Teenage synagogue shooter attempted ‘Christchurch’ livestream rampage
POWAY: The teenager who fired at a synagogue leaving one person dead tried to livestream his attack along with an online manifesto, akin to Christchurch attack.
Facebook apparently removed the vision of the attack before it could be watched and police believe the 19-year-old shooter’s assault rifle jammed, preventing a more deadly outcome.
The gunman, identified by San Diego County Sheriff’s office as 19-year-old John T Earnest, fired at worshippers inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue in the San Diego suburb of Poway on Saturday morning.
One of his victims, a woman, “succumbed to her wounds,” Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said. Three others – a girl and two men – remain in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“I can only tell you that we have a fatality,” Vaus said, “and I can also tell you that it was a hate crime and that will not stand.”
In an apparent manifesto posted online, Earnest claimed to have drawn inspiration for his attack from the killing of 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue six months ago and the mosque shootings in New Zealand in March.
The manifesto describes the writer’s plans to kill Jewish people, referring to himself as an “anti-Semite” and “white supremacist.”
In a post on an internet message board, a user who appears to be Earnest shared a link to the manifesto, saying “a livestream will begin shortly”. Facebook blocked the profile before it gained widespread attention.
The post, which appears almost identical to the one Australian man Brenton Tarrant left hours before he allegedly opened fire on worshippers in Christchurch, also included a link to songs Earnest planned to play during the stream. It linked to the same document dumping site Tarrant used.
Earnest expressed no remorse for his impending actions.
