Around 25% of all mass attackers in the United States from 2016-2020 were driven by conspiracy theories, hateful ideologies or topic-specific beliefs, often toward a protected class, a report by the US Secret Service showed on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2023) Around 25% of all mass attackers in the United States from 2016-2020 were driven by conspiracy theories, hateful ideologies or topic-specific beliefs, often toward a protected class, a report by the US Secret Service showed on Wednesday.
"One-quarter of the attackers subscribed to a belief system involving conspiracies or hateful ideologies, including anti-government, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic views," the report read.
Hate-based beliefs that triggered the attacks also included anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ,+, anti-White views and race-based supremacy. Moreover, many cases involved anti-police views, according to the document.
At the same time, personal grievances like health or financial issues or problems at workplace were a dominant motive of attackers, the US Secret Service said in its said in its analysis of 173 attacks that hurt three or more people in public spaces.
"Nearly all attackers experienced at least one significant personal stressor in their lives within five years of the attack, and for most the stressors occurred within one year. Stressors experienced by the attackers were most often related to things liked financial instability, family issues, romantic relationships, court proceedings, employment, personal health issues, victimization, and homelessness," the report read.
Meanwhile, the analysis also showed that 75% of the attacks studied had involved firearms, with most of them possessed illegally. Moreover, the majority of such crimes led to at least one death, as follows from the report.
The report dubbed "Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020" was issued by the US Secret Service after the country saw a number of mass shooting incidents over the past few days. On Saturday, a gunman opened fire at a Monterey Park dance studio in southern California, killing 11 and injuring nine others. It marked the first of three mass shootings in one week in the Golden State.
On Monday, a 67-year-old man killed seven people and injured one at two sites in Half Moon Bay, 30 miles from San Francisco. He is in the custody of the San Mateo County police.
On Tuesday, the Oakland Police Department said that in another shooting incident, one individual was confirmed dead and seven others injured.
