Opinion: Crying Terror In Error?
The other day, I came across a report that the FBI released in 2002. It described a wave of deadly and random public attacks by 'lone wolf' shooters that had spread across the U.S. during the 1990s . The report had found that all these attacks had had several features in common: • They were rarely sudden, impulsive acts. • Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the attack. • There was no accurate or useful profile of [people] who engaged in targeted violence. • Most attackers engaged in some behaviour prior to the incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help. • Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack. • Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack. A person could be forgiven for thinking that this report was describing the recent spate of mass murders carried out by extrem