NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 17-year-old male Antioch High School student who shot and killed one of his female classmates, injured another male student, and then turned the gun on himself on Wednesday had a 288-page online diary indicating he idolized notorious mass murderers.
The shooter’s diary entries began on October 18 and described his plans for the attack, reports NewsChannel5. His goal was to kill “at least 10 people.” His writings also indicated he was struggling with his mental health and was afraid he would be discovered by law enforcement.
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The diary was captured by independent researchers shortly after Wednesday’s shooting and had been vandalized after it was posted by the independent researchers online. However, the original posts were able to be restored, reports NewsChannel5.
Online postings allegedly from the shooter also praised Adolf Hitler and included selfies with various alt-right paraphernalia and explicit images from previous school shootings, reports The Tennessean. Additionally, his diary linked to several social media accounts focusing on white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and violently misogynistic incel content.
Antioch High School Shooter Inspired by Candace Owens
He also wrote that “Race mixing is a sin against God,” and that he wanted to be white. The shooter was Black.
Candace Owens, who is a Nashville-based conservative commenter who had recently been suspended from YouTube for hate speech was apparently the shooter’s biggest inspiration and pushed him to further embrace antisemitic beliefs. The gunman also referred to anti-Black content.
The diary showed screenshots indicating the gunman was suspended twice from X for violating its rules that prohibit the glorification of those who commit violence.
Additionally, he wrote that law enforcement previously raided his house and found a gun that was his.
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“My dad took the blame…. My dad he’s cool. I hate my mother doe,” the shooter wrote. His diary indicated he thought about killing his parents and claimed his mother held a gun to his head when he was younger.
The shooter even contemplated waiting until his 18th birthday so he could buy better guns and a GoPro.
Some People of Color Drawn to White Supremacy
Although the Antioch High School shooter’s beliefs and actions may seem counterintuitive, it’s not uncommon for some people of color to be drawn to far-right extremist or white-nationalist ideologies, reports LAist. Some examples include Nick Fuentes who is part Mexican; and Enrique Tarrio, who is Cuban American and Afro Latino and was recently convicted of sedition (and then pardoned by President Trump) for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the capitol.
Experts say there are many complicated reasons why some people of color are drawn to far-right extremism and white nationalism. The factors range from toxic masculinity to the internet to colonization to slavery but often begin with universal factors that draw people to extremism: social isolation, “misogyny and a sense of fraternity,” according to Cal State San Bernardino Center for the Study of hate and Extremism Director Brian Levin. “Common hatreds,” he says, include antisemitism, anti-Blackness and anti-government feelings.
Cal State Long Beach psychology professor Marwa Azab says that when people of color embrace leaders or movements that denigrate them, a type of Stockholm Syndrome happens and they may turn on people who look like themselves. For example, Hispanics who insult other Hispanics and Latin American immigrants.
It’s also important to note that not everyone who embraces white nationalism and far-right extremism becomes members of hate groups.
A further discussion of this phenomenon can be found here.
