What we’ve learnt about lone-actor terrorism over the years could help us prevent future attacks

‘Lone-actor’ attacks carried out by individuals without any direct affiliation to a terrorist group have become increasingly common in Europe; University of St Andrews Senior Lecturer Dr Diego Muro and PhD candidate Ovidiu Craciunas look at the difficulties in accurately defining and preventing such attacks, as well as how a better understanding of the behaviour and motivations of previous lone actors can help to address future threats.

Politically motivated attacks, carried out by lone individuals lacking direct affiliation with any terrorist group, have become more common in Europe during the last few decades.

One of the most common and devastating forms of lone-actor violence involves driving into crowds. In 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel used this method to kill 86 people in Nice. In 2011, Anders Breivik detonated a bomb in central Oslo before carrying out a mass shooting on the island of Utøya, leaving 77 dead.

Lees verder via policinginsight.com