Anonymous Vows ‘Vengeance If Necessary’ In Wake Of RCMP Shooting
Hacktivist group Anonymous has vowed to use “vengeance if necessary” in the wake of a fatal police shooting, according to a report from the Vancouver Sun. Anonymous claims that the victim, who may have been wearing a Guy Fawkes mask at the time of the shooting (a symbol of Anonymous), was one of their own.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has indicated that the man had his face covered when the fatal shooting occurred, but have refused to comment on whether the mask was in fact a Guy Fawkes mask, in spite of numerous reports and social media comment alleging that the victim was a member of Anonymous; including a photo released by Anonymous that appears to show the victim wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Of course, the self-styled hacktivists are perfectly capable of skillful image manipulation.
As The Globe and Mail reports, police are refusing to release the identity of the victim. But Anonymous is claiming that the man was a member of a First Nations Anonymous cell, and was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask at the time.
The police were responding to a report that someone was disrupting a public meeting on a controversial project being held at a hotel in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. When they arrived, they ran into a second person and, mistaking him for the target of the harassment report, opened fire. This is according to an email The Globe and Mail received from someone claiming to be a member of Anonymous.
“In other words the RCMP had the wrong person, and the Anon killed tried to tell them that.”
An Anonymous operation, designated “Operation Anon Down,” has appeared in the wake of the shooting, calling for justice and vengeance and supplying a list of targets. The Anonymous members behind the operation claim that the victim was “the fourth Anon to be slain by security forces around the world” and issued a full statement on Saturday.
“As in the past, Anonymous will not stand idly by while our own are cut down in mask. We will most certainly avenge one of our own when they are cut down in the streets while protesting the earth wrecking environmental policies of the Canadian government.
“This RCMP officer must be named, fired, and charged — for the murder of our brother Anon. And if we do not receive justice, rest assured there will be revenge.”
As part of the first phase of Operation Anon Down, the RCMP national website and the Dawson Creek local detachment website were both brought down in targeted cyber attacks.
As the Inquisitr has previously reported, Anonymous was already involved in protests earlier this month after the alleged NYSE, United Airlines, and Wall Street Journal hacks.
[Image courtesy Anonymous, via Vimeo]
