The main suspect accused of carrying out a massacre at two New Zealand mosques on Friday was described by officials as a "right-wing extremist terrorist," and appeared to post a lengthy manifesto before the attack detailing his white-supremacist worldview. Authorities charged a 28-year-old Australian national with murder in the shooting deaths of at least 49 people during Friday prayers in the city of Christchurch. Police sources told NBC News' Australian partner Channel 7 that the suspect's name is Brenton Tarrant. Three other people have been detained although authorities said it was unclear how they related to the incident. None of the four were on any terrorism watchlists, officials said. Although not confirmed as the suspect's by authorities, a 74-page manifesto titled "The Great Replacement" was posted online beforehand and matched several known details about the suspect and the attack. It contains a sprawling array of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and white-supremacist references, repeating common far-right talking points, and refers to President Donald Trump. "Were/are you a supporter of Donald Trump?" the author of the manifesto wrote. "As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no." It also condemns attempts to restrict firearms in the U.S. and pledges to start an American race war. "This conflict over the 2nd amendment and the attempted removal of firearms rights will ultimately result in a civil war that will eventually balkanize the US along political, cultural and, most importantly, racial lines," the manifesto said. The author said he had been planning the attack for two years and moved from Australia to New Zealand to plan and train. Though New Zealand was not the original target for the assault, he said he chose it because of its image as one of the safest countries in the world. Paul Spoonley, a professor at New Zealand's Massey University, said that the far-right has "been building for some time but it's still quite a minor part of the political spectrum in New Zealand." Speaking to Britain's Sky News, he said: "Somehow we thought we were exempt from it but that innocence has been completely blown away today." Rather than focusing on only domestic grievances, white-supremacist nationalists are increasingly taking their cues from incidents around the world, championing international supporters of their cause and condemning what they see as injustices around the world, Spoonley added. The author of the Christchurch manifesto also posted it to the fringe message board 8chan. Many of 8chan's members celebrated the attack and lauded the manifesto's references to niche memes and in-jokes. Anti-immigrant far-right extremism has a long history in Australia and in recent years its focus has shifted to opposing Muslims, according to Mark Briskey, a senior lecturer in criminology at Murdoch University in Perth. These views have seeped into the political mainstream, echoed and amplified by public figures such as Australian Sen. Fraser Anning who last year invoked the term "final solution" in a call to restrict Muslim immigration. Briskey said such messages "give a permission for people who may be attracted to this narrative to undertake further acts of vilification against Muslims, and in the extreme, with violence." The manifesto posted before the New Zealand attack referred to the victims of a terror attack in Stockholm and racial tensions in the Balkans. The author says he was inspired by Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof as well as Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011. He says he aims to spark a civil war in the U.S. along divisions relating to gun rights and race. Its author also says he is a supporter of President Donald Trump as what he describes as a symbol of white identity, but he adds that he dislikes Trump as a policymaker and a leader. Hours after the attack, the president condemned the killings. My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019 Although not confirmed by officials, the suspect appeared to film the attack on a head-mounted camera, live streaming the 17-minute incident to Facebook. The footage has since been taken down. It shows him driving in a car while listening to a Serbian folk song about Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb political leader convicted of war crimes including the 1995 genocide of Muslims in Srebrenica. He then gets out of the car, retrieves a weapon from the trunk, and walks through the mosque firing at the worshippers inside for several minutes. He also appears to encourage viewers to subscribe to PewDiePie, one of the world's best known YouTubers who has used racist language in the past and been accused of anti-Semitism. PewDiePie, real name Felix Kjellberg, tweeted Friday that he felt "absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person." The video, and several images posted to social media that appear to tally with the incident, shows weapons scrawled with writing about Serbian knights who fought Ottoman Turks and Bosnians in the Middle Ages. The manifesto condemns the U.S.-led bombing of Yugoslavia, which began 20 years ago next week, saying that NATO "fought beside Muslims and slaughtered Christian Europeans attempting to remove these Islamic occupiers from Europe." NBC News spoke with a woman who said she went to high school with Tarrant in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia. "He was not very popular and was teased a lot," she said, asking to remain anonymous. "He was picked on throughout school. He was always strange." The woman said Tarrant worked at a local gym, which was also reported by Australian public broadcaster ABC. "He was a very dedicated personal trainer," gym manager Tracey Gray told ABC. "He worked in our program that offered free training to kids in the community, and he was very passionate about that."<doc-sep>One of the suspects in a pair of deadly New Zealand mosque shootings wrote in a manifesto that he supported President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE "as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose," according to The Washington Post. The suspected shooter reportedly wrote in a more than 70-page manifesto that he somewhat supported Trump: “As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no.” Trump harshly condemned the Friday attack in which 49 people were killed. ADVERTISEMENT "My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques," he tweeted Friday morning. "49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!" My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019 Trump's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump Ivanka TrumpMichael Cohen predicts Trump will turn on family after revelation of criminal probe Eric Trump buys .2M home near father's golf club in Florida Melinda Gates tapped divorce lawyers in 2019 after Epstein links to husband: report MORE also condemned the shooting, tweeting, "49 innocent people were slaughtered in their place of worship during the terrorist attack on Christchurch Mosques. We join New Zealand and Muslim communities around the world in condemnation of this evil as we pray for the families of each victim and grieve together." 49 innocent people were slaughtered in their place of worship during the terrorist attack on Christchurch Mosques. We join New Zealand and Muslim communities around the world in condemnation of this evil as we pray for the families of each victim and grieve together. — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 15, 2019 The suspect also reportedly said he was inspired by Dylann Roof, who killed nine people in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015 in a racially motivated attack. The worshippers were killed during shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during Friday morning prayers. At least 40 other people were injured.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump on Friday called the deadly shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand a "horrible, horrible thing," saying he'd spoken with the country's prime minister "to express the sorrow of our entire nation." But the president said he didn't view white nationalism — the suspected shooter appeared to post a lengthy manifesto detailing his white-supremacist views before the attack — as a rising threat around the globe. "I think it's a small group of people who have very, very serious problems," Trump said in response to a question from a reporter at the White House. Trump made the remarks after vetoing a piece of legislation that would have terminated the national emergency he declared after Congress refused to give him the funds he wanted to build a wall on the southern border. He said the declaration was necessary to stave off an "invasion" at the nation's southern border. The president had tweeted earlier in the day to offer his "warmest sympathy and best wishes" to the people of New Zealand, with many other current and former officials also using Twitter to express their dismay, condemn the attacks and offer condolences. Vice President Mike Pence said on Twitter, "We condemn this attack on people of faith in the strongest terms." "God be with you," he wrote. Former President Barack Obama issued his condolences in a tweet as well. "We grieve with you and the Muslim community," Obama said on Twitter. "All of us must stand against hatred in all its forms." First lady Melania Trump tweeted prayers as well. "My deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the horrific shooting," she wrote in a tweet. "We pray & grieve with you and stand against all of the hatred." On Thursday night, immediately after reports of the shooting surfaced, Trump tweeted a link to Breitbart News, which was posting coverage about the attacks. He later deleted the tweet; his Friday morning tweet was his first comments. On Friday, 49 people were murdered in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.” One 28-year-old man was charged with murder and is due in court on Saturday. Three other people have also been arrested. Arden said it was "one of New Zealand's darkest days." New Zealand’s national security threat level has been raised to high. Some Democrats touched on the suspected shooter's apparent manifesto that details a white supremacist worldview and includes a sprawling array of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and white-supremacist references. Although not confirmed by authorities, the 74-page manifesto titled "The Great Replacement" was posted online beforehand and matched several known details about the suspect and the attack. Democrats zeroed in on Islamophobia in particular. "The rising tide of white supremacy and Islamophobia around the globe must be met with our determination to work against hate," Democratic presidential contender Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote in a tweet. That message was echoed by another 2020 contender, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke. We don't back down in the face of Islamophobia and racism at home or abroad. We stand up, stand together and make it clear that terrorism won't be met with indifference but with action that honors our diversity as the people of the world. Thinking of our friends in New Zealand. — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 15, 2019 Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, said her "heart breaks for New Zealand." "We must continue to fight the perpetuation and normalization of Islamophobia and racism in all its forms. White supremacist terrorists must be condemned by leaders everywhere. Their murderous hatred must be stopped," she tweeted. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is Muslim, tweeted to encourage people to embrace each other. Jummah Mubarak to all. The murderers in NZ cannot stop you from fearlessly, faithfully and lovingly embracing your neighbor. Could be the best way to overcome their hate. — Keith Ellison (@keithellison) March 15, 2019 Another 2020 hopeful, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tied the attack to U.S. shootings at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Everyone should have the right to worship without fear, and an attack on a place of worship is terrorism perpetrated against all of us. My heart goes out to the people of New Zealand today," she said in a tweet. Other Trump administration officials reacted Friday, as well. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen expressed sympathy for the victims and families, and said on Twitter that there are no threats against the U.S., but encouraged vigilance. My heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families of the brutal violence in NZ. This was an act of terror. @DHSgov stands with our friends in New Zealand and will provide any assistance they need. — Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 15, 2019 White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also released a statement. “The United States strongly condemns the attack in Christchurch. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and their government against this vicious act of hate," she said.<doc-sep>
President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences Friday morning over the mass shootings that killed 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. "My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured," Trump wrote. "The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!" TRUMP TWEET The White House also weighed in on Friday and said the U.S. "strongly condemns" the attack. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and their government against this vicious act of hate," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. A man in his late 20s was charged with murder, and New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said four people had been taken into custody, three men and one woman. Multiple explosives had been found attached to vehicles. The nation's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, denounced the massacre as a "terrorist attack." "This is one of New Zealand's darkest days," Ardern said. "Clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence." A live 17-minute video that appeared to be taken by the gunman was posted to social media the day of the attack. Facebook and Twitter took down the pages linked to the shooter, but the live stream was spread across the internet, creating new questions about how tech companies can manage harmful content. Other global leaders have also offered support to New Zealand after the attacks. British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted, "On behalf of the UK, my deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand after the horrifying terrorist attack in Christchurch." French President Emmanuel Macron added, "All our thoughts for the victims of heinous crimes against the mosques of Christchurch in New Zealand and for their loved ones." The U.S. and New Zealand are partners through the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance, along with Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. — CNBC's Everett Rosenfeld contributed to this report.