Emerging Trends in Youth-Driven Extremist Violence
Recent school shootings have drawn attention to a concerning trend among young individuals inclined towards violence. These incidents, which occurred in Madison, Wisconsin, and Nashville, Tennessee, challenge traditional understandings of radicalization, as they don’t fit neatly into categories like Islamist or white nationalist terrorism. Researchers are increasingly identifying these acts as “nonideological” terrorism, driven by antisocial online networks that encourage such behavior among the youth.
Matthew Kriner, managing director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium, noted, “It’s really about that violence for the sake of violence.” This sentiment reflects the growing influence of certain subcultures and subnetworks aiming to instill violent ideologies in younger generations.
The Influence of Online Communities
The tragic events at Abundant Life Christian School and Antioch High School involved perpetrators Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow and Solomon Henderson, respectively. Both seemed to be influenced by previous mass killers, aspiring to join their ranks. Kriner observes, “This is sort of the next chapter of what we could call ‘far-right violence’ or what terrorism looks like.”
A community known as the True Crime Community (TCC) has been identified as a possible influence. This group, which emerged post-Columbine, obsessively follows mass killings and sometimes romanticizes the perpetrators. While TCC isn’t known for directly inciting violence, there is evidence of its influence in several recent cases. Cody Zoschak from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue mentioned, “At this point, we have tracked at least seven, and likely more, school shootings or disrupted school shooting plots in the United States linked to TCC individuals in 2024 alone.”
Intersecting Online Subcultures
The TCC’s overlap with darker online communities, like the Terrorgram Collective and Saints Culture, complicates the landscape. These groups promote violent ideologies, sometimes blending with nihilistic movements like No Lives Matter. The convergence of these communities has altered the profile of individuals drawn to such violence.
Kriner points out that “young Black men” and other demographics are now being seen in roles traditionally occupied by different profiles. The target age for radicalization is notably younger, between 13 to 18 years. Moreover, the gender balance within TCC is about 50/50, a rarity in extremist circles.
The Dark World of 764 and Related Networks
The emergence of networks like 764, which exploit minors, has added another layer of complexity. These groups often manipulate young individuals into self-harm or violence for clout. Mack Lamoureux, who investigated 764, describes them as “little fandoms” with hierarchies encouraging extreme behavior.
Cases involving 764 highlight increasing concerns over online child sexual exploitation. Kathryn Rifenbark from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports a “300% increase in reports” related to violent online groups from 2023 to 2024.
Challenges in Tracking and Understanding Radicalization
Efforts to understand this new wave of radicalization are hampered by a lack of centralized data on school shooting plots. Zoschak emphasizes the need for dedicated teams to analyze social media in connection with each threat or incident.
Kriner notes the difficulty in identifying radicalization due to the deeply embedded nature of online identities and subcultures. “What they’re consuming is like five layers deep of inside jokes and memes,” he explains, complicating detection efforts.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
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