Warning: this article contains sensitive content. 

The Current State of the World

Ever since the Columbine Shooting on April 20, 1999, there has been an increase in mass shootings and school shootings over the years following it. Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012, Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016, Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, Poway Synagogue on April 27, 2019, El Paso Walmart on August 3rd, 2019, and so many more. While it’s no surprise that America experiences these a lot more than any other country, that doesn’t mean these shootings in other countries aren’t influenced by America’s count of mass shootings; some to name are the 2011 attacks in Norway, the Christchurch mass shootings in New Zealand, and the Rio de Janeiro school shooting in Brazil. But much like America, many others have happened besides the ones I’ve already named.

However, there are many drawbacks to how common these terror attacks have become, with many people becoming desensitized to these attacks. But nobody seems to mention how people become obsessed with these attacks, some even idolizing them. If you look at social platforms like TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter/X, and 4chan with their various clone websites, you’ll find mini-communities commonly named as the ‘True Crime Community’ or ‘TCC.’ Outside of TikTok, which takes its moderation somewhat seriously, the other named websites/apps don’t exactly ban or delete most user-made posts, which leads to concerning content about politics, religion, gore, gender, sexuality, and true crime.

There are many different sides of this community, whether it be romanticizers, planners, idolizers, or supporters; the common idea is that the shooters are their heroes, idols, and crushes. Though in rare cases, these people will go through with their plans and commit these acts. Some of these are committed out of attention from others, hatred against a certain minority, or love for the previously infamous mass killers. These platforms commonly seem to condone and support these crimes and their perpetrators. I even see insensitive comments under posts relating to the schools, poking fun at the tragedy or making comments about the victims that were utterly disgusting or insensitive.

But I’d like to share basic info I’ve found about various perpetrators, including their names, the tragedies they’re associated with, and the motivations/causes of their crimes. All of these newer perpetrators will share common motivations that I will then connect to the internet’s influence on them. My final argument before my conclusion will be about how Columbine wasn’t just a tragedy but instead created a “legacy” for the perpetrators.

The Incidents and Perpetrators

Columbine (April 20, 1999)

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris – Dylan suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts, and viewed the massacre as a way to end his own life, while Eric had psychopathic traits and wanted to kill on a large scale. Other motivators included bullying, racism, Nazism, and medications (Eric).

Virginia Tech (April 16, 2007)

Seung-Hui Cho – Cho suffered from untreated psychotic traits, depression, and selective mutism. Bullying by “snobs”/opressors who he had expressed rage towards, he viewed himself as a liberator of the downtrodden and the weak by fighting back against the “children of Ishmael.” Cho also studied and referenced Dylan and Eric, seeing the two as martyrs.

2011 Norway Attacks (July 22, 2011)

Anders Behring Breivik – Anders was anti-multiculturalism as he believed that European civilization was facing cultural suicide due to liberal policies and multiculturalism. He also believed in the “Eurabia” conspiracy, that European elites were allowing an Islamic takeover of the continent. Anders thought he was a modern-day knight in a newly formed transitional order called the “Knights Templar.” He wanted to draw global attention to his manifesto by initiating a “propaganda phase.”

Sandy Hook (December 14, 2012)

Adam Lanza – Adam suffered from untreated and undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome, OCD, anxiety, and anorexia. Evidence was found that Adam had an extensive spreadsheet on multiple mass shootings throughout history, with a particular obsession with Columbine. He had a fixation on predatory behavior as well, harboring a distorted belief that committing the massacre would be a way to “save” children from pedophiles. He also had easy access to multiple guns via his mother owning and keeping them at home.

Charleston Church (June 17, 2015)

Dylann Roof – Dylann’s motivations were centered around white supremacy and racism, posting a manifesto online that expressed racial hatred, advocating violence, and praising segregation. He had specifically chosen Emanuel A.M.E. Church because of its importance to the African American community down in the South. During the shooting, he had even claimed that black people were “taking over the country.”

Pulse Nightclub (June 12, 2016)

Omar Mateen – Omar had an extremist ideology, placing a 911 call pledging his allegiance to ISIS as well as praising the Boston marathon bombers and expressing sympathy for the Florida man who carried out a suicide bombing in Syria. Patrons of the nightclub said they had seen Omar before the shooting, and he also used gay dating apps; investigators pieced together that he might’ve been facing internalized homophobia. Omar had a history of mental instability, steroid abuse, and domestic abuse against his previous wives. However, connecting back to his ISIS claim, authorities noted his last-minute allegiance might have been to get greater publicity for his crime.

Christchurch Mosque (March 15, 2019)

Brenton Tarrant – “The Great Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy theory that European populations were being systemically replaced by non-European populations, mainly Muslims, through higher birth rates and mass migration. He had viewed his attacks as revenge for conflicts that involved Islamic extremists, wanting to cause a broader civil war and polarize the West. Two other motivators include Ecofascism and White Nationalism.

Poway Synagogue (April 27, 2019)

John Earnest – While much couldn’t be found on him during my search, the main motivation I see is that John was heavily anti-Jewish, saying that they were seeking to “doom” the white race and did the shooting out of ‘self-defense’ for the European people.

El Paso Walmart (August 3rd, 2019)

Patrick Crusius – Patrick followed the “Great Replacement Theory” like Brenton, but this time focused it on Hispanic and Mexican immigrants. He had immersed himself in white nationalist forums on sites like 4chan and 8chan, with his inspiration being Brenton Tarrant. He believed that he was acting on the directions of Donald Trump and was “saving America” from an invasion. He also claimed that he was bullied by Mexican classmates in high school.

Tops Friendly Markets – (May 14, 2022)

Payton Gendron – Much like Patrick and Brenton, Payton had believed in the “Great Replacement Theory,” expressing support for Dylann, Brenton, and Anders. Despite showing support for the “LGB,” besides being transphobic, he also had white supremacist, anti-Semitic, populist, and ecofascist views. He believed that Jews and societal elites were responsible for the inclusion of trans people and non-white immigrants, that black people disproportionally kill white people, and that non-whites will wipe out and overwhelm the white race.

The Internet’s Connection

The internet has been connected since Columbine, as Dylan and Eric had a website where they first posted videos about DOOM, which would then shift to bomb threats, death threats towards classmates, and instructions on how to build pipe bombs. While this website was shut down, there have been various fan blogs and memorials about the two, and fans of theirs call themselves “Columbiners.” This formula would be the blueprint for other shooters in the future, with another perpetrator, Brenton Tarrant, making another impact by uploading manifestos online and live-streaming the acts. Brenton would also cause more racially/religiously motivated shootings to happen, like the El Paso Walmart shooting and the Poway Synagogue shooting, where the perpetrators of these two uploaded online manifestos, while another shooting, the Tops Friendly Market shooting or the Buffalo Massacre, had the perpetrator, Payton Gendron, livestream his attack. 

But with the platforms that I previously mentioned, there are communities that promote and condone these acts constantly. A lot of the motivations for these attacks are wanting attention; the perpetrators want to make an impact on people in these communities to honor them and treat them with some form of twisted respect. I’ve seen videos and comments on TikTok of people making fan art of these shooters, making meme images of them, or even flat-out saying they’re innocent or heroes, and the app doesn’t do anything to take these down. Websites dedicated to gore and disturbing content have even uploaded videos of these attacks as a way for these people to admire and watch these terrible attacks on innocent people and children, and those websites are an entirely different can of worms that I would like to touch on, but can’t in this article.

With how the internet has changed over the years, it has seemed to have become desensitized to attacks or tragedies like these. With how commonly 9/11 is joked about, you would expect the same reaction to school shootings, although with TikTok, they become a hot topic before being dropped almost a week later. This can also apply to people who actually care about these events and voice their opinions against gun violence; however, these get met with hateful responses and threats, as the internet is a cesspool for debates like these to happen in comment sections and spiral out of control. Shock websites are a main contributor to this, as gore has become a main reason for why people feel desensitized to these acts, and people even begin making jokes about certain videos that spread around the internet outside of these websites.

Columbine’s “Legacy”

If you were to ask me my views on Columbine, it wasn’t just a tragedy that shook the nation; it was a phenomenon that shook the world. Columbine birthed lockdown drills, had law enforcement change how they respond to active threats, and affected how the US debates gun control. Columbine would be the pathway for other mass murderers and those planning mass murders to commit their own acts out of inspiration or obsession, with a lot of shootings after 1999, and their perpetrators being obsessed with Eric and Dylan. 

This effect can even be seen in any community spaces where two people had an interest in, for example, the two liked playing DOOM II, and there was allegedly a map of Columbine High School that Eric had made, but investigators never found it. KMFDM, an industrial rock band, had even gotten some attention as Eric and Dylan were avid fans of the band, even featuring lyrics from their songs “Stray Bullet” and “Waste” on their website as well as their album “Adios,” released the day of the shooting. The band has come out to say they didn’t promote or condone the tragedy, as they stated that KMFDM was an art form, not a political party. In recent days, many “fans” have gotten into the band due to both Eric and Dylan with many shirts of the band being seen either online with posts relating to Dylan and Eric, commonly supporting them, or how in a recent shooting like the Abudant Life Christian School shooting on December 16th, 2024, where the peruptrator Natalie Lynn Rupnow wore a shirt of the band that was in similar style to Eric. She was deep into the TCC, being described as a nihilistic, violent extremist; she herself even developed a following of other perpetrators who opened fire at various schools.

If this pattern continues with younger perpetrators who are active in these communities online, there won’t be any decline in these shootings, and we’ll only see an increase in the number of victims and shootings. 

Final Thoughts

Now I myself believe in gun control, as the main problem I find in these attacks is that assault weapons are still being sold to the public. I can understand people owning weapons like handguns or hunting rifles, as these can be used for self-defense and hunting; however, who would ever need an assault weapon in everyday life? While this can depend on state and local laws, the current states that have banned the sale of assault weapons are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington; however, both Virginia’s and Rhode Island’s bans will take effect July 1st, 2026.

I would also say some more internet safety laws could be helpful, obviously not heavily restricting laws, but more about restricting certain websites from being allowed on the web and having content like gore being blocked all across the web. Websites like 4chan only function under negativity and hatred, promoting harmful ideals and ideas onto young children who access the website, as seen with various perpetrators who committed a racially motivated shooting. 

Almost every day, a new shooting or crime involving firearms takes more victims, affecting families, towns, schools, and communities. The coverage of these crimes gives more attention to the perpetrators than the victims, leaving families unseen or unheard by social media and not receiving help or support from others. Radical communities online actively promote and worship these crimes as a way to get attention and share their views on the world by taking the lives of people, children, loved ones, and family. If this pattern continues further, there won’t be any decline in this violence until society comes together to call out these communities, websites, and behavior as harmful methods of radicalizing people into harmful and destructive beliefs that lead to attacks like these.