START investigator Clark McCauley and postdoctoral research fellow Sophia Moskalenko wrote a piece about Ottawa Parliament shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau and the psychology of lone-actor violence for their Psychology Today blog, Friction: How Radicalization Happens to Them and Us.
Both Professor McCauley and Dr. Moskalenko have extensive experience researching the psychology of lone-actor terrorism and violent behavior. The article in Psychology Today seeks to clarify the difference between extremist radical opinions and radical action by focusing on one of two possible profiles of lone-actor extremists that could be applied to Zehaf-Bibeau.
To read the full article, visit Professor McCauley and Dr. Moskalenko’s blog here. An additional entry also discusses Zale Thompson, a man who attacked police in Queens.
A more in-depth look at McCauley and Moskalenko's work on lone-actor violence can be found in their Terrorism and Political Violence journal article "Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists: What Moves an Individual from Radical Opinion to Radical Action."