During a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, celebrations came to an abrupt halt after a gunman opened fire. Video from the parade shows panic as hundreds fled the area. Seven people were killed, with at least 46 others wounded. But in the shooting’s immediate aftermath, attempts to understand the shooter’s motivations showed how mainstream extremism discourse is failing us.
Following mass shootings, there’s a rush to identify the shooter’s motives and answer the question of what radicalized them. Often, people look to a shooter’s manifesto for answers (although manifestos shouldn’t be taken at face value). In the case of the Highland Park shooter, there isn’t one. And while he has a violent digital legacy, the lack of overt political motivations makes this shooting different from other acts of white supremacist extremism.
