Chilling property ad inadvertently reveals haunting lost terror clues linked to massacre of 51 people

Scottish Sun

11 hours ago

A PROPERTY listing has inadvertently revealed haunting lost terror clues linked to the massacre of 51 people in New Zealand.
In 2019, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, now 34, opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, heinously targeting worshippers inside.
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A property listing has inadvertently revealed haunting lost terror clues
Credit: homes.co.nz
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Investigative journalist Joey Watson discovered that this apartment was the place Tarrant resided before he launched the heinous attack
Credit: homes.co.nz
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Tarrant was sentenced for the terror attack
Credit: AP
Australian Tarrant targeted Muslim communities, shooting at Al Noor mosque and Linwood mosque in March that year.
The terrorist pleaded guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of committing a terrorist act during the shooting rampage.
Graphic footage of the attack was live-streamed on Facebook via a headcam he was wearing.
Tarrant told police officers that it was his plan to burn down the mosques after his attack - and that he wished he'd done so.
The terrorist was sentenced in August 2020 and will spend the rest of his life locked up.
Now over six years on, a property listing has revealed harrowing clues linked to the massacre.
Investigative journalist Joey Watson discovered that the apartment on the real estate website was where Tarrant lived before he launched the heinous attack.
The property listing appears normal initially, with a fairly desolate kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
But pictured on the desk in the study is a computer, logged in, with the screen completely visible.
Watson observed on the desktop home screen a saved Word document thought to be Tarrant's 74-page manifesto he wrote released before the massacre.
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In the manifesto, Tarrant described how he'd been preparing for the attack since his trip to Europe two years prior.
During his visit to France, he'd described a town in Eastern France as a "cursed place", calling immigrants "invaders".
The author of the disturbing manifesto said he was inspired by Anders Breivik - the far-right terrorist who killed 69 children of a Workers' Youth League on the island of Utøya in Norway in 2011.
The computer's background image also bears haunting clues linked to the attack, as it shows a painting from the 1860s called Among the Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt.
This painting is said to have reached popularity with extremists on dark internet sites visited by terrorists, Watson explained on his podcast Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor.
The bombshell discovery comes years after New Zealand Police said it had never recovered the terrorist's computer.
Journalist Watson even downloaded the image and discovered it had been taken on March 4, 2019 - 11 days before the tragedy.
Two other icons on the homescreen were spotted - an anonymity browser often used to access the dark web called Tor, as well as a software called Eraser that permanently deletes files.
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Initially, it seems like a normal property listing, with a kitchen, bathroom, and rooms with barely any furniture
Credit: homes.co.nz
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On a desk in the study is a computer, still logged in, with the screen completely visible
Credit: homes.co.nz
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The terrorist was sentenced in August 2020
Credit: homes.co.nz
Discord - a messaging app created for gamers - was also seen on the listing by Watson installed on the computer.
The app had been used in the past by an international community of neo-Nazi groups which became collectively known as the Skull Mask network, according to Watson.
Skull Mask is said to have emerged from an extremist forum called Iron March.
Watson revealed how terrorist Tarrant was connected to such networks and posted on extremist groups.
The Christchurch massacre
The devastating attack at the Masjid Al Noor Mosque and the nearby Linwood Masjid took place at around 1.40pm on Friday, March 14, 2019.
The gunman opened fire on the two mosques, targeting worshippers inside.
He then returned to his car to pick up another weapon and resumed firing inside.
He then shot two more people outside the Linwood Islamic Centre.
Tarrant reportedly had been on a seven-year trip around the world before the attack after his dad Rodney Tarrant died of cancer aged 49.
The attack prompted New Zealand to reform its gun laws - banning military-style semi-automatic weapons.
His grandmother told news outlet 9News that she believed these travels changed him, saying: "It's only since he travelled overseas I think that boy has changed completely to the boy we knew".
In his manifesto which he posted online before the attack, he said: "I had little interest in education.
"I did not attend university as I had no great interest in anything offered in the universities to study.'
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Brenton Harrison Tarrant appears in a screen via video link in Christchurch, New Zealand
Credit: AP