Why do school shooters post "warning sign" things on their social media

If people like Cruz really intended to go through with his shooting plan, why post things on social media that would freak everyone out and maybe get him reported to the police?

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Eric would call it "foreshadowing". Some people are just plain bad with secrets.

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"My guns are the only things that haven't stabbed me in the back."
-Kip Kinkel

Do you remember Brooke Higgins and Sienna Johnson? Also there were these boys in England who wanted to be the English Eric and Dylan and one of them told a friend on Snapchat. Seems like some of them are trying to get caught but it's interesting how some like Cruz can get away with it and others can't.

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Guest

Sometimes I kind of think it's a cry for help tbh

There's a really great scholarly article about this. It's a phenomenon called "leakage" and it is recognized as one of the steps in pre-attack preparation for mass murderers, including school shooters. The steps are: the gathering of weapons, improving their skill, probing and boundary pushing, and finally, leakage.

The article can be found here:
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"The motivation for leakage can be either intentional or unintentional, of course,
depending on the perpetrator’s relationship with the person who hears, reads, or sees
the leakage. It seems most likely that leakage is not singly motivated, but rather occurs
for a number of reasons. These motivations could range from the need for excitement,
a sense of accumulating power, a desire to frighten or intimidate, a seeking of attention,
to simply fear and anxiety concerning the impending act. In some cases, it may reflect
an inability of subjects to contain within themselves the emotions associated with the
anticipated violence. They may regret the leakage as soon as it has been uttered or
communicated in some form. In other cases, such as the Sodini case, it may be a
prolonged and deliberate seeking of attention, perhaps from anyone, before the act;
and a desire to memorialize their leakage in cyberspace following their death. This
latter behavior, much more deliberate than spontaneous, may be a product of pride
investment, or narcissistic inflation concerning the act itself and the notoriety it will
bring to the subject after death. Often this pathological narcissism is compensatory: the
fantasy of the act, and all the planning and preparation, have brought a resolve and
meaning to a life that is emotionally blighted and socially aimless (Hempel et al., 1999;
Meloy et al., 2004b). Historical acts of martyrdom, even if not motivated by religious
belief, can contain within them both homicidal and suicidal motives, and a desire to be
memorialized by others (Menninger, 1938). What is clearly apparent in our work, but
still often misconstrued by others, is that leakage is not generally motivated by a desire
to be caught or stopped, which would imply the anticipation of remorse, or recognition
that the impending act is desired, but morally repugnant. This would suggest a level of
maturity, stability, and conscience development that appears woefully absent in many
of these cases."

Some of them are just low-IQ.

Cho with his Asian IQ didn't do any of this foreshadowing shit.

Because people will turn a blind eye if its a once in a moment thing.
Like the "Evan" short, the protagonist quickly scrolled up to the shooter posting a picture of himself and his gun with a threatening caption, the shooter watching videos about how to handle guns better etc.

If you're lapse in the head, you'd post so much in such crude detail with no form of hiding you'll get caught like that columbiner trio.

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sympathyforEandD wrote:: Some of them are just low-IQ.

Cho with his Asian IQ didn't do any of this foreshadowing shit.

Untrue. As early as eighth grade Cho was writing papers about how he hoped someone would "repeat Columbine" and wrote threatening messages on his binders. His stalking of women also caused him to get involuntarily committed, which, legally speaking, should've prevented him from ever owning a firearm.

_________________
"My guns are the only things that haven't stabbed me in the back."
-Kip Kinkel

I think some people think it's cool to try and leave cryptic clues about there true intentions.

Because they think it's cool and the Internet gives a false sense of safety.

Guest

Gold Digger wrote:: If people like Cruz really intended to go through with his shooting plan, why post things on social media that would freak everyone out and maybe get him reported to the police?

they want attention

Putting myself in the shoes of a potential shooter: I think a lot of shooters who eventually also release a manifesto, tend to post warning signs on Twitter or other social media, because they want people like us to research all of it. In doing so, they get the infamy that they wanted. Mauricio Garcia and Juraj come to mind. I also think Atchison knew somewhere that we would find his accounts, maybe he even linked them in his mediafire.

My thoughts

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soul survivors

Typically its a last resort for a cry for help. There not sure where they can go or who they can tell so they post on the internet hoping someone will talk to them to give them a reason not to go through with it or try to find them the help they need Sometimes its people that are edgy and post stuff to troll others. I think it depends on the shooter.

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"This is it. This is where it all ends. What a life it was. Some life." - Seung-Hui Cho

It has to do with a mixture of narcissism and foreshadowing. The shooters want these "warning signs" to act as a final "FUCK YOU!" to the police and anyone else for that matter. Sorta in a way that says "You had a million ways to stop this tragedy. You had the chance to stop me but you blew it. Now watch me decimate this classroom." Overall, the "Warning Signs" pretty much act in the same way salt in a wound does: a lingering stinging pain that accompanies the larger source of agony.

It’s a trend, the most being the white paint painted on the article of body armor and the weapons they’ll use to inflict harm, with references to past shooters as a way to commemorate their bravery and courage to go up against whatever their manifesto stated they were targeting.

Ego feeding. They want others to feel bad for them, or to wonder how it got to the point where they had to do these things. That's why they don't personally phone the police, but rather make Facebook status posts about it. The target audience isn't law enforcement, it's the world.

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