Synopsis of the Events
One of the recent events of the lone war terror attack in the US is the shooting in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The incursion was racially motivated as Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old, set out on the afternoon of Saturday, May 14, 2022, to kill ten African Americans while injuring three others; only two victims were white (Hummel, 2022). The attacker seemed to have planned the attack as he was armed with bulletproof armor and military gear with a camera attached to record the event. The young man had bought a used Bushmaster XM-15 semi-automatic rifle from an authorized seller and modified it illegally to accommodate high-capacity magazines.
The gunman alighted from the car and started to shoot indiscriminately. Four victims were shot immediately, out of which three suffered fatally, and the guard’s attempt to shoot the attacker proved futile. The guard was one of the victims shot inside the Tops Friendly Markets. When the police arrived, the perpetrator wanted to commit suicide but was convicted otherwise and then arrested. The event is viewed as one of the deadliest racist attacks in recent American history.
Outside the US, Australia has suffered a similar lone-wolf terrorism attack. In the dusk of June 4, 2019, Ben Hoffman launched an attack in the streets of Darwin’s city center, killing four people (Bayman, 2017). The 45-year-old adult had been released from prison on parole and had a history of violent crime (Bayman, 2017). The attack’s motive was unclear, and the attacker later apologized.
Lessons Learned and Their Use
The main lesson learned from the Buffalo attack is that previous attacks can inspire similar occurrences in the future among disturbed people or those harboring similar intentions. In particular, the Christchurch attack played a significant role in influencing Gendron, while the Tarrant provided a template for planning the attack. The Hoffman attack further shows that the media has inspired individual attackers into violent crime (Bayman, 2017).
The attacks borrow heavily from previous adversaries that inform individuals planning and executing attacks on the public. The lessons underscore the need for agencies to enhance resilience in collectively disintegrating recordings and writings on attacks to prevent the past from providing a template for planning future attacks. The Hoffman attack further shows the need for police to enhance evidence collection from the public to inform future interventions and resilience.
Psychological and Sociological Impacts
The Buffalo attack reveals that the racial problem in the US affects individuals psychologically. Gendron was infuriated by the rise of black people and desired to act to ensure white supremacy rules. The attack indicated that society has to address the racial divide between African Americans and Whites by championing an equal society. The Hoffman attack had no apparent motive but pointed to the psychological desire to commit violent crimes. Hoffman was a regular convict who questioned the need for society to forgive such people and allow them to live freely in society.
Recommendations to Reduce Lone Wolf Terrorism
The primary aim in reducing lone wolf terrorism is to ensure such individuals remain isolated. Terrorism is highly successful when people coordinate and share ideas using different platforms. The agencies should be on high alert and engage closely with peers from Muslim nations as they may have critical information on people likely to commit terror crimes (Hummel, 2022). Another recommendation is to disprove ideologies lone wolves can embrace and use to drive their agenda. Finally, law enforcement agencies can initiate and enhance monitoring of communication platforms, especially social media, to identify and disrupt exchanges among individual terrorists.
References
Byman, D. L. (2017). How to hunt a lone wolf: Countering terrorists who act on their own. Brookings. Web.
Hummel, K. (2022). The Buffalo attack: The cumulative momentum of far-right terror. Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Web.