• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Drops First Single & Steamy Music Video: WATCH
  • Jonathan Knight secretly marries boyfriend Harley Rodriguez
  • Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate

‘Copycat’ mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after New York attack

Towleroad May 16, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
Reuters
521539 origin 1

By Tim Reid and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – An 18-year-old white man suspected of fatally shooting 10 people in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, appears to be the latest in a line of “copycat” gunmen carrying out deadlier mass shootings inspired by previous attackers, experts warned on Sunday.

Payton Gendron, who surrendered to police on Saturday after the attack, apparently publicized a racist manifesto on the internet and broadcast the attack in real time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com. Authorities called the mass killing an act of “racially motivated violent extremism.”

Experts say the trend of mostly young white men being inspired by previous racist gun massacres is on the rise, citing recent mass shootings, including the 2015 attack at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a 2019 attack at a Walmart in an Hispanic neighborhood of El Paso.

Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, has studied trends in mass shootings over time. His 2020 study analyzing victim data showed that the “deadliest” shootings – where more than eight people are killed – had doubled in number since 2010, compared to the previous 40 years.

“It’s clearly not just random. They are not people dreaming this up on their own. They are learning it from each other,” Lankford said.

He added: “They want to be like the previous attacker, who is a role model.”

Lankford’s study found that the “deadliest” shootings comprised 25% of mass public shootings from 1966 to 2009, but from 2010 to 2019 had increased to 50% of mass public shootings, in which there was “direct evidence that perpetrator was influenced by another specific attacker or attackers.”

Lankford said the rise in these copycat mass killings have a specific trend: the gunmen find their inspiration from the personal life details of previous mass shooters. “It’s not repeating the incident that inspires them. It’s the intimate details of their lives that promotes the influence,” he said.

Lankford said one way to try and combat the rise in such hate crimes is for the media to avoid publishing details of the shooters personal lives.

RED FLAGS

Hate-motivated mass shootings and fame-seeking perpetrators have rapidly increased since 2015, according to an analysis by The Violence Project, which tracks mass shootings in the United States.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks hate and extremist groups, told Reuters on Sunday the Buffalo gunman “had a substantial online history in niche, toxic online communities.”

“From what he wrote online, by his own account he was radicalized through participation in these forums,” Susan Corke, director of SPLC’s Intelligence Project, said in an emailed statement.

The SPLC said that even though it had not seen any evidence yet of the gunman’s affiliation to a specific far right or racist group, there were red flags.

“He discussed building up a weapons cache and asked detailed questions about body armor on a Discord channel dedicated to gun culture. He also posted about allegedly killing a cat and dismembering it. He appears to have posted detailed plans for an attack as early as two weeks ago and posted frequently after that about his planning,” Corke added.

The SPLC said it had obtained a transcript of the suspect’s Discord chat log, adding they have “high confidence” when asked about its authenticity. Reuters could not independently authenticate the postings.

Social media and streaming platforms like Twitch, which said it removed the stream of Saturday’s shooting after less than two minutes, have grappled with controlling violent and extremist content for years.

The live-nature of the broadcasts make it particularly difficult to moderate as streaming platforms do not have time-delays like television broadcasts. Facebook has sought to address the livestream violence issue in 2019 after allowing 17 minutes of a livestream of a mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, before taking it down. It now has a one-strike policy which temporarily restricts users after breaking a rule.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Sunday the stream should have been taken down faster and that she would take the matter up with social media platforms.

Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also urged social media companies to address and track down extremism on their platforms.

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

Topics: Aaon, Art, Film/TV/Stream, History, Media, News More Posts About: Nancy Pelosi, Southern Poverty Law Center

Related Posts
  • Bannon gets mocked to his face post-conviction: ‘This doesn’t seem like the misdemeanor from hell’
  • ‘Disloyal sleaze bag!’: Trump flips out on McConnell in late-night rant after Jan 6th hearing
  • Landmark gun-safety bill heads to U.S. House after Senate passage
  • Jonathan Knight secretly marries boyfriend Harley Rodriguez

    Jonathan Knight secretly marries boyfriend Harley Rodriguez

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Knight has married his boyfriend Harley Rodriguez. The New Kids on the Block star has confirmed he’s a married man after tying the knot with his longtime partner in secret …Read More »
  • Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate

    Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate

    Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican hopes of taking control of the U.S. Senate in November could hinge on former football star Herschel Walker, a first-time candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, whose …Read More »
  • The Shocking Truth 25 Years After Princess Diana’s Tragic Death — Brother Charles Speaks Out

    The Shocking Truth 25 Years After Princess Diana’s Tragic Death — Brother Charles Speaks Out

    Published by OK Magazine mega August 31 marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death — and her only brother, Charles, proudly spoke out about his sister! “I’m always surprised by how difficult August 31 …Read More »
  • U.S. releases 2019 memo opposing Trump obstruction charges

    U.S. releases 2019 memo opposing Trump obstruction charges

    Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Justice Department on Wednesday released under court order all of a 2019 memo https://www.justice.gov/file/1528466/download in which two top officials advised then-Attorney General William Barr not to …Read More »
Previous Post: « Edgy Fashions Take Over! Stars Hit The Red Carpet At The 2022 Billboard Music Awards: See Sin City Styles
Next Post: Dua Lipa nearly quit music because of trolls »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner Contently Stroll Hand-In-Hand As Donald Trump’s Legal Woes Mount

    Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner Contently Stroll Hand-In-Hand As Donald Trump’s Legal Woes Mount

  • Biden to hold first political rally in run-up to November elections

    Biden to hold first political rally in run-up to November elections

  • Trump has displayed ‘anxiety in private conversations’ following Mar-a-Lago search: report

    Trump has displayed ‘anxiety in private conversations’ following Mar-a-Lago search: report

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y’know

  • Duke and Duchess of Sussex adopt new rescue dog

    Duke and Duchess of Sussex adopt new rescue dog

  • Vanessa Bryant awarded 16m in damages over helicopter crash photos

    Vanessa Bryant awarded 16m in damages over helicopter crash photos

  • Lisa Scott-Lee recalls surreal dinner date with Michael Jackson

    Lisa Scott-Lee recalls surreal dinner date with Michael Jackson

RSS Partner Links

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Most Recent

  • Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Drops First Single & Steamy Music Video: WATCH

    Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Drops First Single & Steamy Music Video: WATCH

  • Jonathan Knight secretly marries boyfriend Harley Rodriguez

    Jonathan Knight secretly marries boyfriend Harley Rodriguez

  • Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate

    Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate

  • The Shocking Truth 25 Years After Princess Diana’s Tragic Death — Brother Charles Speaks Out

    The Shocking Truth 25 Years After Princess Diana’s Tragic Death — Brother Charles Speaks Out

  • U.S. releases 2019 memo opposing Trump obstruction charges

    U.S. releases 2019 memo opposing Trump obstruction charges

  • William Orbit: ‘Queen loves DJs as long as they end sets with National Anthem’

    William Orbit: ‘Queen loves DJs as long as they end sets with National Anthem’

  • Sir Rod Stewart takes another cheeky dig at his long-time pal Sir Elton John with stage mockery

    Sir Rod Stewart takes another cheeky dig at his long-time pal Sir Elton John with stage mockery

  • Scott Maxwell: Marco Rubio says his campaign is ‘a disaster.’ Is he crying wolf or truly scared of Demings?

    Scott Maxwell: Marco Rubio says his campaign is ‘a disaster.’ Is he crying wolf or truly scared of Demings?

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2025 · Log in

×