He Told Us

The explosive, definitive book on how a far-right terrorist managed to escape detection and why we have failed to learn the lessons from Christchurch's shocking mosque murders.

In March 2019, an Australian man shot dead 51 New Zealanders in two mosques in  Christchurch. Until now, the true story of this atrocity has not been told.

He Told Us is the definitive account of that day — and the years of radicalisation that led to it. Revealing the terrorist's previously undiscovered online trail, this groundbreaking and meticulous investigation shows how he radicalised to violence over five years to become the most influential far-right terrorist in history.

As he travelled the world, the terrorist's hatred deepened in anonymous online forums that espoused racist, misogynistic and violent beliefs. But He Told Us exposes how he was also nurtured by a growing Australian far-right and neo-Nazi movement that played a key role in his increasing militancy.

The book lays bare how several warning signs were missed — the terrorist even telling us publicly online that he planned to carry out an attack. It dismantles the conclusion of the Royal Commission of Inquiry that the terrorist involved no other person in the planning of his attack or even told anyone of his plans. And it tears down the misleading façade that surrounds the perpetrator and that continues to inspire other mass killers around the world.

For the first time, He Told Us provides a comprehensive account of March 15 and tells the stories of some of the remarkable people whose lives were lost or changed forever that day.

Essential and urgent, this is the story of how a terrorist openly told us what he was going to do — and how we failed to stop him.