“Authorities laid out a harrowing timeline: A 21-year-old white supremacist was believed to have posted a 2,300-word screed online in August 2019, saying the mass shooting he was planning was inspired by another shooter who had killed 51 people in New Zealand mosques. Minutes later, authorities say, Patrick Crusius stormed into a Walmart in Texas, killing 23 people, most of them the Latinos he said he had targeted.
Such cases have helped establish what experts say is the contagious nature of mass shootings: When one high-profile event takes place, another is likely to follow.
That is why recent events have them worried…”
Dr. James Densley contributed to this article, discussing extremism on social media, the social script, and contagion. Continue reading the article to read his insights here.
Author: Kimberly Kindy
Source: Washington Post