Mexican Mass Shooter Inspired by Columbine?

Authorities in Mexico aren't saying much, at least officially, about the 27-year-old man who opened fire on tourists at the Teotihuacan archaeololgical complex on Monday, killing a Canadian tourist and wounding several others. We don't know, for instance, if he acquired his pistol through one of the country's two gun stores or if he got it on the black market. Officials have also been silent about the murderer's motivations, though several media outlets in Mexico have claimed the killer may have been inspired by the Columbine shooting in Littleton, Colorado in 1999. 

The newspaper Milenio has reported that the young man was an admirer of Hitler and even published photos of himself giving the Nazi salute. Despite the official silence surrounding the case, the profile of the victims — all foreigners — and certain details surrounding the attack offer clues. Some media outlets have drawn attention to the fact that the crime occurred on Hitler’s birthday. Another coincidence is the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, USA, on April 20, 1999. Two students used assault rifles to kill 12 classmates and a teacher, and wounded 24 others. They then turned the weapons on themselves. The tragedy has become one of the most striking images of the gun violence epidemic and its devastating consequences in the United States.

Reference has also been made to the attacker’s t-shirt, which bore the slogan “Disconnect & Self-Destruct.” Milenio pointed out that this slogan is commonly used within the True Crime Community (TCC), to which the Columbine shooters were linked. While the Teotihuacán attacker’s connection to the TCC is not entirely clear, various organizations have warned of the proliferation of ideas associated with this diffuse group, particularly regarding “performative violence” or “nihilistic violence.” 

That phrase "disconnect and self-destruct" comes from a song by the band A Perfect Circle called "The Outsider." Singer Maynard James Keenan has said the song is "from the perspective of a person who doesn't understand at all what their friend is going through, what their loved one is going through." With lyrics like "Disconnect and self-destruct/One bullet at a time/What's your rush, now?Everyone will have his day to die," though, it's not hard to see why those with an unhealthy obsession of the Columbine killings and other mass murders have turned it into an anthem celebrating their nihilism. 

El Pais also notes that just three weeks ago, a 15-year-old self-identified "incel" in the state of Michoacán killed two of his high school teachers; an incident that wasn't covered at all by most U.S. news outlets. El Pais points out the murders were "reminiscent" of another attack at a high school last September. 

A student was stabbed to death by a 19-year-old man who entered the school to attack him. The assailant published several posts on social media describing himself as a young man trapped in loneliness and resentment. In “incel” forums (short for “involuntary celibates,” men who consider themselves rejected by women), he wrote messages that revealed his willingness to kill.

Mexico's main driver of violent crime, by far, are the cartels that are the de facto authorities in some Mexican states. But the subculture that toxically blends narcissism, nihilism, and mental illness; that celebrates the Columbine killers and other mass murderers as heroes to be emulated, is clearly not just a U.S. phenomenon. It's permeated south of the border as well as into many other countries, and it sounds like it may very well have been the motivation behind Monday's attack at the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan. 

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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