Comparing European Lone Actor Terrorists to “Common” Homicide Offenders

So far, much of the research on Lone Actor Terrorism is U.S.-based. There is an empirical vacuum of Lone Actor violence in Europe and a conceptual gap in how these acts may be understood as a variation of homicidal behavior. In this contribution, we examine and compare characteristics of European Lone Actors to European “common” homicide offenders. Findings show that Lone Actor terrorists constitute a heterogeneous group that is similar to homicide offenders but differs in terms of substance use, weapon use, and target. These findings may be understood in the context of instrumental versus expressive aims. Please find the full article, by Marieke Liem, Jelle van Buuren, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn, Hanneke Schönberger and Edwin Bakker below.