Building on an Active Shooter Profile

Building on an Active Shooter Profile (That Remains to Exist)

All we need to get to #NEVERHERE

Building on the active shooter profile that remains to exist, we need to broaden our views and accept some realistic facts. The Texas shooter’s diaries reveal he believed he was an “INCEL” (definition follows), which shows a troubling pattern beginning to emerge over the past several active shooter events that ended with mass killings.

That trend? Sexuality and sexual identity are not new phenomena but are rather progressive. The data will reveal that people struggling with relationships manifest hate and evil and feel like they must show the world how powerful they are. The Asian Spa incident in Atlanta (2021), sexual nexus. The Club Q incident in Colorado Springs (2022), sexual nexus. The church shooting in California (2022), sexual nexus. The Uvalde School massacre shooting in Texas (2022), sexual nexus. The Nashville Christian School incident (2023) sexual nexus. The Allen, Texas Mall incident (2023) sexual nexus.

What is INCEL?  The INCEL ideology originated in the late 1990s. A Canadian woman created an Internet peer support forum for people who were unable to find a partner for a sexual relationship.   This woman used the term “involuntary celibacy” as a nonjudgmental way to identify as a group. This later became “INCEL”.  The term INCEL is typically used today to describe men who feel unable to obtain romantic or sexual relationships with women to which they feel entitled.

In 2022, the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) published a case study of the November 2, 2018 attack where a 40-year-old gunman killed two women and injured four more before committing suicide.  The attacker’s inability to develop or maintain relationships with women along with his perception of women’s power over men, was his motivation.

This case study again demonstrates the importance of using a behavioral threat assessment approach to identify people escalating to violence, with the goal of intervening on this pathway.

This particular case study revealed significant observed concerning behaviors that had continued for decades unaddressed. This report also highlighted the specific threat posed by misogynistic extremism. The hatred of women and the gender-based violence that is associated with it requires increased attention from everyone.

A final key point made by the NTAC is: “What most attackers share, however, are observable concerning behaviors displayed prior to engaging in violence. Although every act of targeted violence may not be prevented, the risk of future tragedy tragedies can be reduced if the appropriate systems are in place to identify the warning signs, gather information to assess the risk of violence, and apply the appropriate community resources.”

I am not writing this from a position of having answers nor suggesting sexually frustrated people will be or are active shooters. Still, I suggest we re-examine much of what we know to be true about active shooters/killers. There were four (4) female shooters before Nashville; in two years, we’ve had two transgenders become killers (both were in-between male and female no matter which direction), and several severely sexually frustrated people evolving into the unthinkable and unimaginable cowards who just carry out evil acts beyond our comprehension.

Interviews with those identifying as INCELs indicate that they believe their numbers will grow with increased high-risk behaviors.  Described as a group of people with nothing to lose, INCELs are strongly incentivized to engage in high-risk behaviors as time passes.

Statements such as “There is nothing more dangerous than a pissed off INCEL that has no future, no sexual relationship, and no longer feels they have anything to lose by engaging in destructive behavior.” demonstrate the perspective of the INCEL.

USSS research has also shown that there is no one profile of an individual who plans or executes active, targeted violence. Attackers vary in age, race, sex, education level, employment history, and other characteristics.

Race is another hurdle to overcome.  The media is fascinated by pushing one narrative that is not factually accurate. This has nothing to do with defending a truth, absolute, or even a position; it has to do with understanding that evil doesn’t identify as a male or female or any race. Every race turns into an active killer in nearly every country. If we look for one race, one sex, and one identity, we will miss what has been happening over and over for the past several years but seemingly peaking in the past 365 days.

Written by: Chris Grollnek and Glenn Norling May 10, 2023

Chris Grollnek is one of the nation’s most sought professionals in the Active Shooter Prevention field. With over 33 years in the study and application of protective measures, Chris brings experience from his time in the Marine Corps, Law Enforcement, and Private/Government contracting, providing strategic advisory services for the most senior executives in the country. Chris earned his M.S. in 2012.

Glenn Norling is a Principal at TBR Consulting: www.trainbeready.com. FBI Special Agent (Retired February 2020). Certified FBI Crisis Management Coordinator; FBI Instructor; FBI Adjunct Faculty; Violent Crime Supervisory Special Agent; Critical Incident Response Group Supervisory Special Agent; Domestic Terrorism Investigator and JTTF Coordinator. Career-focused on critical incident preparedness, training, and response. Trains thousands annually in Active Shooter Awareness. Prior United States Air Force Captain – acquisition program manager. Glenn holds a BA in Physics MA in Organizational Management.