In mass attack after mass attack, perpetrators studied their predecessors before the carnage. The latest is no exception.
By Mark Berman and Mark Berman National news reporter Email Bio Follow Katie Zezima Katie Zezima National reporter covering vice Email Bio Follow March 16 at 6:00 AM The deadly attacks on Muslims at Friday prayers in New Zealand marked the latest example of a grim phenomenon: Mass violence followed by revelations that the suspected perpetrator had studied and drew inspiration from previous massacres before opening fire.
“Quite a few of them . . . they’ve done research on previous attackers, they’re trying to learn from them, they’re inspired by them, they’re trying to quote-unquote improve upon what those people did,” he said. “We see that all the time.” Research has shown that those who attempt or carry out mass attacks frequently look to the methods of past attackers — and in some cases imitate them — in a way that experts said was similar to how terrorists adopt tactics. The wave of truck attacks carried out by followers of the Islamic State is one clear example.
The Columbine shooting is often referred to as a touchstone for such attackers — and not just in the United States. In a 2009 article on Columbine’s legacy a decade later, Ralph W. Larkin of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found six rampages outside the United States that imitated or referenced that attack.In some cases, it is unclear how intentional the echoes are. The New Zealand manifesto makes references to “invaders that seek to enter our lands.
But looking at or referencing past attackers can also show what influenced their thinking, and a manifesto that specifically mentions Charleston and the Norwegian attacker seemingly demonstrates that in the New Zealand case, Lankford said. Experts said that the Internet helps speed up the process of would-be attackers finding inspiration as well as locating like-minded individuals.
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