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He was known within his childhood town of Grafton as someone who was dedicated to fitness and ran free athletic programs for children. But on Friday, Brenton Tarrant became known as an alleged mass killer.
The 28-year-old, who attended Grafton High School before getting his qualifications in fitness, listened to 17th-century British military music before opening fire on a mosque in New Zealand’s south island.
Tarrant worked at the Big River Gym in Grafton from around 2009 after attending the facility as a high school student, owner Tracey Gray told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
"He started coming to my facility as a boy that was finishing school and showed a lot of dedication to his own training. Then he went and did his personal training qualifications," she said.
In various social media posts, Tarrant indicated that he got an inheritance after his father died and used it to quit work and travel the world in 2011.
Gray understood Tarrant's father died of an asbestos-related illness and worked for the James Hardie group. She believed his mother possibly still lives in Grafton.
"As normal as one person to the next…"
The suspected Christchurch shooter's former boss describes her shock at the dramatic personality flip of her one-time employee.
"He left here to go travelling and as far as I knew he was travelling to sort of see as much of the world as possible," she said.
"He's worked in the fitness industry where it's about helping people. It's an inclusive industry, not an exclusive industry. We take all shapes and sizes, all different people... so I think something's really happened in this person's travels... He never showed any extremist tendencies in conversations I had with him."
She told Nine News: “Somewhere along the lines, experiences or a group have got a hold of him.”
Last year, a message on Facebook from Tarrant spoke of a trip to Pakistan, "an incredible place filled with the most earnest, kind hearted and hospitable people in the world".
"The beauty of hunza and nagar valley in autumn cannot be beat," he wrote.
It appears he settled in New Zealand at some point in his travels. In a 37-page manifesto posted to Twitter minutes before the attack, Tarrant wrote of his obsessions with racial purity, claiming the attack would “show the invaders that our lands will never be their lands”.
He also wrote that he began planning the attack “roughly two years in advance”, and chose the final location three months prior to the attack.
The manifesto covered topics from taxation to white birthrates, envisaging the fall of mosques in what was one Constantinople in Turkey, while also including the Dylan Thomas poem Do not go gentle into that good night.
On Friday, Tarrant allegedly entered two central Christchurch mosques and opened fire, killing 41 people at Masjid Al Noor in Deans Ave at 1.40pm local time, and seven at Linwood Masjid.
Tarrant is believed to have livestreamed the massacre online with a body cam. His social media accounts have since been removed.
One witness told Nine News, “I could hear screaming and crying and saw some people were dropped dead”.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the victims ranged in ages, with Police Commissioner Mike Bush confirming 49 people are dead.
Three suspects are now in custody, one of whom is Tarrant.
Following the devastating events in New Zealand, NSW Police issued a statement, assuring “the public there is no ongoing or specific threat to any mosque or place of worship in Sydney or across New South Wales”.
NSW Police have increased patrols and senior officers have reached out to the community and religious leaders to provide support and reassurance.
“Everyone should continue to go about their business without fear”, the statement said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...-as-former-grafton-local-20190315-p514nm.html
The 28-year-old, who attended Grafton High School before getting his qualifications in fitness, listened to 17th-century British military music before opening fire on a mosque in New Zealand’s south island.
Tarrant worked at the Big River Gym in Grafton from around 2009 after attending the facility as a high school student, owner Tracey Gray told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
"He started coming to my facility as a boy that was finishing school and showed a lot of dedication to his own training. Then he went and did his personal training qualifications," she said.
In various social media posts, Tarrant indicated that he got an inheritance after his father died and used it to quit work and travel the world in 2011.
Gray understood Tarrant's father died of an asbestos-related illness and worked for the James Hardie group. She believed his mother possibly still lives in Grafton.
"As normal as one person to the next…"
The suspected Christchurch shooter's former boss describes her shock at the dramatic personality flip of her one-time employee.
"He left here to go travelling and as far as I knew he was travelling to sort of see as much of the world as possible," she said.
"He's worked in the fitness industry where it's about helping people. It's an inclusive industry, not an exclusive industry. We take all shapes and sizes, all different people... so I think something's really happened in this person's travels... He never showed any extremist tendencies in conversations I had with him."
She told Nine News: “Somewhere along the lines, experiences or a group have got a hold of him.”
Last year, a message on Facebook from Tarrant spoke of a trip to Pakistan, "an incredible place filled with the most earnest, kind hearted and hospitable people in the world".
"The beauty of hunza and nagar valley in autumn cannot be beat," he wrote.
It appears he settled in New Zealand at some point in his travels. In a 37-page manifesto posted to Twitter minutes before the attack, Tarrant wrote of his obsessions with racial purity, claiming the attack would “show the invaders that our lands will never be their lands”.
He also wrote that he began planning the attack “roughly two years in advance”, and chose the final location three months prior to the attack.
The manifesto covered topics from taxation to white birthrates, envisaging the fall of mosques in what was one Constantinople in Turkey, while also including the Dylan Thomas poem Do not go gentle into that good night.
On Friday, Tarrant allegedly entered two central Christchurch mosques and opened fire, killing 41 people at Masjid Al Noor in Deans Ave at 1.40pm local time, and seven at Linwood Masjid.
Tarrant is believed to have livestreamed the massacre online with a body cam. His social media accounts have since been removed.
One witness told Nine News, “I could hear screaming and crying and saw some people were dropped dead”.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the victims ranged in ages, with Police Commissioner Mike Bush confirming 49 people are dead.
Three suspects are now in custody, one of whom is Tarrant.
Following the devastating events in New Zealand, NSW Police issued a statement, assuring “the public there is no ongoing or specific threat to any mosque or place of worship in Sydney or across New South Wales”.
NSW Police have increased patrols and senior officers have reached out to the community and religious leaders to provide support and reassurance.
“Everyone should continue to go about their business without fear”, the statement said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...-as-former-grafton-local-20190315-p514nm.html
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