Case Reviews in Lone-Actor Terrorism Incidents

Lone-actor terrorism incidents vary widely in a number of areas, including backgrounds of perpetrators, the associated ideology or belief system, geographic location, weapons used, and the intended victims. As reviewed in other chapters, the overall “picture” that emerges of the lone-actor terrorist may include a background of disruptions in upbringing, family, or functioning; mental health difficulties; a change in behavior and thoughts toward radicalization and extremism, which may involve hatred and harboring a grievance; and contradictory thoughts and actions. This chapter presents brief reviews of some individual lone-actor cases as an example of the broad variance in these types of cases and incidents.