Christchurch Mosque Shootings and Motivations

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Introduction

Terrorism is a form of criminal behavior motivated by political, religious, or racial hate. Terrorist violence is often linked to Islamist groups, and the assumption might mislead investigators and authorities dealing with atypical criminal profiles and behavior. The case study on the psychology of terrorism examines the Christchurch Mosque shootings organized and performed by Brenton Tarrant in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019 (Mirnajafi & Barlow, 2019). The unprecedented violence of the act and its viral dissemination on social network platforms raised concerns about the influence of the Internet on the global spread of terrorism, which is perceived as a latent threat. The deadly event also uncovered the failures of local officials who disregarded the possibility of a non-Islamist attack and did not take appropriate measures to prevent islamophobia and hate crimes against immigrants and refugees.

The following paper will provide the background information on the event, review the origins of the terrorist, explore the motivations behind the shootings, and apply appropriate psychological theories to the critical analysis. The case study is relevant and was chosen for four main reasons. First, the Christchurch Mosque shootings became the first major terrorist attack in New Zealand. Thus, it is worth investigating the range of factors contributing to criminal behavior to develop effective prevention strategies for the country. Second, the profile of Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist, is not typical for a large-scale attack involving two mosques and a significant number of victims. The analysis of the case involving unusual criminal behavior may help expand public knowledge and awareness of the diversity of terrorists’ psychological profiles. Third, the gunman live-streamed his crime online, which indicates the performative nature of the attack that will be addressed in the paper. Finally, the case study has implications for further research in psychology, as it provides an overview of the main factors contributing to the crime and presents the portrait of the terrorist.

History

Background Information

Christchurch, located on the South Island of New Zealand, is known for its strong English heritage and associated nationalist beliefs. In the 1980s, the city was the center of neo-nazi, skinhead, and nationalist organizations and groups promoting the superiority of the “British race” (Spoonley, 2019). The history of ideologically motivated violence in the city includes the shooting of 1989, a murder-suicide by a local skinhead, and several attacks on Korean immigrants and LGBT individuals (Spoonley, 2019). The rise of the World Wide Web, followed by the emergence of social media websites, established a convenient platform for sharing extremist ideas and transferring hate speech online. The fact that the attack on Christchurch’s mosques was live-streamed on Facebook was unique and concerning. Notably, the assault-weaponized attack was organized as a set of performances.

Today, public opinion about immigration is generally positive in New Zealand. Annual surveys conducted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation suggest that the majority of the population encourages diversity and understands the benefits of immigration for the country (Spoonley, 2019). Furthermore, the statistical analysis conducted by Shanaah et al. (2021) demonstrates the increase in positive public attitudes toward religious and ethnic minorities after the attacks against these groups. However, hate speech and crimes against immigrants are still common in New Zealand and Australia, while the authorities are reported to be “overly suspicious of the Muslim community instead of protecting it” (BBC, 2020). Shannah et al. (2021) also noted that crimes committed by members of an ethnic majority against minorities lead to a relatively low perception of threat by the non-immigrant population. Institutional prejudice and bias corrode public trust and increase the chances of terrorist attacks conducted by white supremacist extremists and nationalists.

Criminal Origins

It is important to discuss the origins of the criminal to understand the motives behind the crime. An Australian citizen and far-right extremist, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, is the perpetrator responsible for the deadliest terrorist act in New Zealand’s history, claiming the lives of 51 people and injuring 49 (Macklin, 2019). The attacker was born in 1990 and raised in the city of Grafton, characterized by its low-income and predominantly white population with 87 percent of non-immigrant, Australian-born residents (Williamson, 2020). Family and peers reported that Tarrant was “odd, largely solitary and prone to poor practical jokes,” smart, and had limited social skills (Williamson, 2020, p. 4). The divorce of his parents and a knee injury motivated him to become interested in physical fitness. His obsession with the gym and the Internet was especially evident after the death of his father, and he started taking steroids to improve stamina and strength. Tarrant inherited a large sum of money and decided not to attend university after graduating from school. Tarrant started traveling in Asia and Europe and visited the historic battle sites of Christian-Muslim conflicts.

At the time of the shootings, Tarrant was a 28-year-old eco-fascist and ethnic-nationalist. He settled in New Zealand in 2017 and became a rifle club member to prepare for the shootings. Tarrant also created a manifesto inspired by far-right extremist Anders Brevik, who organized the 2011 Norway terrorist attacks (Williamson, 2020). The ideology encouraged the geographic separation of different ethnic groups and anti-immigration activities to prevent foreign colonization and preserve the natural order (Moses, 2019). The attacker was enraged with the politics of French President Emmanuel Macron and viewed him as an anti-white and internationalist figure for encouraging immigration from the developing world. Thus, Tarrant understood that he could not rely on politics and turned to terrorism to promote his ideology.

He planned the attacks in Christchurch for two years before entering the Al Noor Mosque during Friday Prayer, followed by the shooting in the Linwood Islamic Centre. The gym trainer with no previous criminal record was arrested after the killing spree of 36 minutes (Macklin, 2019). Tarrant became the first person prosecuted in New Zealand under the Terrorism Suppression Act (2002) and received a sentence of life in prison for his actions (Williamson, 2020). The analysis below will demonstrate how political and internal radicalization shaped the psychological profile of the terrorist, while relevant theories will be used to support the arguments related to his motivations.

Analysis

The explanation of the motivations and origins of the case study is essential for understanding the root causes of terrorist attacks organized by the members of white majority groups. Brenton Tarrant carefully planned the act of terrorism to demonstrate “the deadly power of White supremacy” (Mirnajafi & Barlow, 2019, p. 47). Psychological theories, including psychodynamic, social learning, biological, and cognitive, will be used in the following analysis to interpret the motives of the shooter. Individual radicalization, the attack’s performative character, and biological abnormalities will be considered as the factors that influenced the behavior of the terrorist.

Psychodynamic Theory Applied to the Case of Brenton Tarrant

The psychodynamic (psychoanalytic) theory was chosen for the analysis because it exemplifies the characteristics of the attacker’s personality and suggests that there are psychological reasons behind crimes and terrorist acts. The approach is based on the psychosexual theory by Sigmund Freud, who discovered an inherent antisocial nature of humans leading to selfish behavior and disregard for morality and ethics (Tang, 2018). According to the psychoanalytic theory, unconscious mental processes are shaped during early childhood and divide personality into the id component, the ego, and the superego (Tang, 2018). The combination of a weak ego and superego supports the pleasure principle and complicates the application of the reality principle allowing people to delay immediate gratification in favor of better rewards (Morgan, 2019). The dominance of the id, or the primitive element of the human mind, motivates a person to prioritize unconscious biological urges over the interests of other people.

The theory can be applied to the case study because Brenton Tarrant demonstrated a weak ego/superego when they used steroids to achieve fast results in sport. The pleasure principle is manifested in Tarrant’s addiction to violent video games providing rewards and instant gratification for killing Muslim characters and sharing his virtual experiences online (Munn, 2019). Bartel (2020) reports that video games display psychological violence, cause aggression, and simultaneously stimulate the pleasure principle. Moreover, the monetary benefits Tarrant received from the inheritance allowed him to travel and buy firearms/ammunition immediately without having to save money or contemplate the purchase (Gardell, 2021). Similarly, he refused to influence political decision-making and immigration policies via active citizen involvement or voting. Instead, Tarrant preferred extremist solutions and supported the United Patriots Front (UPF), known for its far-right agenda. Therefore, the psychodynamic theory demonstrates that Tarrant’s fascination with firearms and mass murder might have originated from his gaming addiction. However, the findings do not explain why other gamers do not commit violent crimes or become involved in terrorist activities, which suggests the influence of additional factors on the attacker.

Performative Nature of the Attack and Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory was selected for this case study to analyze the impact of Brenton Tarrant, his lone wolf personality, and his extremist ideation. Horgan (2017) suggests that the primary goal of terrorism is social or political change achieved through violence and victimization of civilians. The case of Brent Tarrant, however, deviates from the strict definitions of terrorism and includes the performative component that is not typical for other terrorist individuals or groups. The criminal viewed himself as the protagonist in his theatrical attack on mosques and perceived the victims as antagonists (Mazer, 2020). The crime scene resembled a first-person shooter video game live-streamed on Facebook (Willis, 2021). Far-right anthems playing from Tarrant’s car stereo served as a soundtrack to a deadly terrorist act, while the ‘Great Replacement’ manifesto provided a script for the performative attack (Williamson, 2020, p. 4). According to Tarrant’s plans, mass murder in a quiet small city of colonial heritage was supposed to produce a dramatic effect and intimidate the public via social network platforms.

Considering the characteristics of the performative attack, it might be assumed that a social element had an influence on Tarrant’s individual radicalization. Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, based on the principles of behavioral psychology, provides the foundation for examining how individual social behavior can be shaped through observation and imitation of other people’s behaviors. According to the theory, criminal behavior is developed via peer association and attribution of positive characteristics to deviant behaviors (Lizotte et al., 2019). Notably, individual radicalization learned through the interaction with individuals or subcultures exposing deviant behavior plays an important role in extremist ideation and terrorist activities (Hold et al., 2017). Tarrant’s online interactions with the fans of violent video games and the members of the far-right organizations, including the UPF, impacted his decision to engage in terrorist activities.

The identity of the lone wolf attacker (white anti-Islamist) also created a black sheep effect. The effect leads to a harsh public judgment of the perpetrator and attracts more attention to the terrorist case (Shanaah et al., 2021). Considering the strong bonds with the far-right and the gaming communities, Tarrant could have been motivated by the potential recognition and the infamous status attributed to him after the attack. Moreover, the act undermined the reputation of the majority group that the criminal represents because violent far-right extremism threatened the image and the national identities of Australians and New Zealanders. Therefore, social learning theory explains the motives of the terrorist, such as the recognition by deviant peers demonstrating violent behaviors online and the aim to fit into the group of white supremacist, anti-Islamic individuals. The performative nature of the attack imitated the visual and audio imagery of video games to attract followers and spread anti-immigrant ideology.

Psychological Investigation of the Terrorist Actor: Biological and Cognitive Theories

Biological psychology theory was selected for the analysis because it might explain how pathological physical and psychological characteristics of individuals contribute to the development of terrorist identities. The processes like brain and hormonal abnormalities can be used to explore the biological aspect of the case study, as they stimulate deviation from societal norms and political violence (Lynch & Joyce, 2018). Interestingly, the studies examining the brain activity of radicalized and terrorist individuals and comparing them to non-criminal participants concluded that hormonal imbalances might change neurological pathways (Lynch & Joyce, 2018). The case of Brenton Tarrant illustrates the negative impact of testosterone abuse on aggressive behavior. The gym trainer regularly used anabolic steroid injections without the doctor’s approval to maintain the muscle strength required for his obsessive fitness and weightlifting regime (Moore, 2019). According to the research by Khoodoruth and Khan (2020), hormone imbalances due to steroid abuse can lead to anxiety, hostility, and aggressive behavior. The neuropsychiatric effects of steroids contribute to violent activities and increase the risk of criminal behavior, which might have triggered Tarrant’s act of terror.

Cognitive abnormalities can also be responsible for extremist ideation and terrorist activities. The cognitive theory is employed for the analysis as it explains terrorism from the perspectives of faulty decision-making encouraging manipulation and compulsive people monitoring (Tang, 2018). Mental health assessment ordered by the court discovered no evidence of mental illness and concluded that the attacker was fit to stand trial. Tarrant declared that he would psychologically analyze himself, which might indicate his strategic approach to information processing typical for individuals prone to crime and terrorism (Barrett & Menon, 2020). Furthermore, he was self-absorbed, decided to represent himself at the hearings, and did not apologize or express regret for his actions and the harm he caused. Hostile attribution bias (unreasonable hostility detection) was possibly developed under the influence of video games, social networks, and the UPF, while Tarrant referred to himself as a “private and mostly introverted person” (Kirkpatrick, 2019). There is no information about Tarrant’s adverse childhood experiences or traumas, and these factors might be excluded from the list of motivations for Tarrant’s terrorist behavior.

Discussion

The analysis of the terrorist’s motives and relevant psychological theories indicates that the hostility towards Muslim populations may be assigned to the influence of Islamophobic groups and biological (neuropsychiatric) causes. Williamson (2020) states that cognitive radicalization does not always result in behavioral radicalization. Most individuals supporting radical ideas do not become terrorists or resort to violence. However, online radicalization combined with Tarrant’s personality characteristics discussed above contributed to the attack on the mosques in New Zealand. The research incorporated into the case study provided new directions for the fields of psychodynamic, social learning/behavioral, biological, and cognitive psychology. The foundation of psychodynamic theory was adequate for explaining the personality characteristics encouraging the habits which possibly triggered the attack.

Further studies in biological psychology supported by healthcare, psychology, and psychiatry experts may investigate the problems of psychological manifestations of steroid abuse in association with hate crimes and terrorism. The research included in the study proved that mental illness is a prerequisite for terrorist behavior, as the offenders like Brenton Tarrant may demonstrate stable mental health according to psychiatric assessments. Additionally, the available research related to the application of social learning theory to the topic of video game violence is scarce. Surveys and interviews with violent video game addicts and the members of white extremist groups may expand the knowledge of the motivations of non-typical terrorists who do not demonstrate explicit political motives. Moreover, the in-depth examination of the link between violence, video games, and live-streamed terrorism by psychologists and digital media specialists may compensate for the lack of evidence on the topic.

The motives and the background of the terrorist discussed in the case study emphasize the critical need for a safe and inclusive society for people of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The psychological theories discussed above might be employed to analyze the foundations of terrorist behavior in non-Muslim perpetrators and isolate suspicious cases to prevent mass murder in the future. The freedom of speech and access to the Internet encourages the formation of deviant subcultures and online communities, which might facilitate individual radicalization and inspire extremist ideation through learning and imitation (Holt et al., 2017). Therefore, there is a need for effective mechanisms of online extremism control based on diverse psychological profiles of potential terrorists or criminals described in research and professional literature.

Conclusion

The case study discussed the unusual example of a terrorist attack on mosques that happened in Christchurch, New Zealand. The review of the background revealed the activity of white supremacist and anti-immigration groups in the area, while the origins of the attacker suggested the influence of steroid abuse and online groups. The analysis of Brent Tarrant’s motivations and the application of psychological theories allowed us to determine the potential causes of the mass shootings. Biological theory triggers (hormonal imbalance) and personality characteristics (reliance on the pleasure principle over the reality principle) played a major role in Tarrant’s decision to organize a terrorist attack. The recommendations for further research proposed in the discussion section of the paper provide directions for studies in terrorism prevention via psychological profiling of existing cases representing non-typical criminal identities.

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