Lone Wolf Attacks: The Most Likely Form of Terror

The open Southern Border is of utmost concern to anyone who is wise enough to realize that such a situation is unsustainable for the survival of a nation.  Not only does the influx of unmitigated and unregulated ILLEGAL migration strain national resources, but it has also introduced a host of security threats. Hidden among the constant stream of border crossers is human trafficking and narcotics importation.  Perhaps most worrisome of all is the fact that, for the past several years, bad actors in league with foreign entities who intend to commit terror attacks against the United States can literally just walk in.  This situation has resulted in even federal agencies admitting that the threat of terror cells is very real.

Still, whether or not terror cells activate at some point, which is a real possibility, a consistent threat that has always been with us certainly remains so, and that is the lone wolf terrorist. Lone wolf essentially means that an individual acts of their own accord to commit a mass-casualty or terror event.  The individual may well swear allegiance to a terrorist group or cause, but they are not directly supported by the group.  In terms of Jihadi-type terrorism, some lone wolves have been “radicalized” by fringe religious leaders or groups, but more often than not, the individual simply goes looking for a degenerate cause to latch onto in order to self-justify the terrible violence they wish to commit.  The truth is, all such mass attacks, whether workplace or school shootings, in supposed retaliation for bullying or oppression or attacks, steeped in extremist ideology, are committed by people of a similar mentality, no matter the particulars.  

Examples in Recent History

The threat of lone wolf attack is nothing new.  In the past several decades, we have seen numerous iterations of it.  The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with an improvised explosive, is one such example.  While any number of groups have been suggested as being somehow involved, McVeigh acted essentially alone.  The Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2017 was carried out by a single individual who, in some roundabout way, swore allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS right before the attack.  Likewise, the married couple who committed the San Bernadino Christmas party shooting were also in allegiance to terror groups, though there was no direct funding or support from said groups.

Regardless of ideology, the individuals who perpetrate such acts are simply filled with hate to the point that their declared reasons for the violence are hardly coherent.  This class of criminal seeks to inflict carnage on a society that they deem oppressive in some fashion, whether it be the vengeful workplace shooter or a newly self-appointed terrorist.  The allegiance made to terror groups in such instances is most often done so well after the intended violence is in mind.  Potential lone wolf attackers are ever present, but political and international events can further motivate them to emerge.  

Current Trends of Concern

The most obvious international event of interest is the latest Israeli–Palestinian conflict.  This is a struggle that has been raging for decades, but the latest carnage has ignited outrage on both sides of the issue around the world.   Unfathomable acts of violence have been perpetrated by citizens of the United States on fellow citizens because of this entirely foreign conflict.  The fact is that this war is also sure to expand in that region of the world, further igniting hostilities between the United States and our long-held enemies, many of which support terror organizations. Therefore, the environment is ripe for lone wolf attacks motivated by such international complications.  

Defensive Considerations

Lone wolf attacks that are affiliated with terrorism have often presented in different ways compared to the more common active shooter attack.  While active shooting incidents have been the dominant form of mass murder, the use of explosives and vehicle attacks have been witnessed domestically and far more internationally.  The active shooter is a threat that the armed citizen has been overwhelmingly effective at neutralizing when an armed citizen is on site.  Of course, such monsters intentionally pick gun-free zones for such attacks most of the time, and that will continue to be the usual.  Stay armed at all times possible and avoid mass-murderer empowerment zones (gun-free zones).

Also, be cognizant of the further potential for explosives in mass attacks going forward.  We have already witnessed this in the Boston Marathon bombing and the Oklahoma City bombing, as well as the first bombing of the World Trade Center.  Internationally, lone wolf attackers have also used explosives.  The 2011 active shooting attack on an island in Norway was preceded by an explosion in Oslo that killed eight people, the device being left by the lone wolf shooter who went to the island.  Explosives are scary and prove a choice tool for terrorism.

The state of our world continues to deteriorate, and the armed citizen should consider the escalated threat of the lone wolf terrorist.