Killings at European schools fan concern US problem is spreading
A spate of school killings in Western Europe has raised pressure on authorities to tackle a problem long seen as a largely US phenomenon, increasing momentum for tougher gun and security laws and more policing of social media.
While mass shootings remain far more common in the United States, four of the worst school shootings in Western Europe this century have occurred since 2023 and two - a massacre of 11 people in Austria and another in Sweden - were this year.
Last week's killings in the Austrian city of Graz sparked calls for tighter gun laws by political leaders, mirroring the response of the Swedish government after the 11 deaths at the Campus Risbergska school in Orebro in February.
"Mass shootings, of which school shootings are a part, were overwhelmingly a US problem in the past, but the balance is shifting," said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama. "The number in Europe and elsewhere is increasing."
Part of the rise stems from copycat attacks in Europe often inspired by notorious US rampages such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, according to shooters' own comments or their internet search histories, Lankford said.
"It's like an export from America. These attackers see other people do it and it has a snowball effect."
According to research by Lankford and Jason Silva, shootings carried out by people eager for notoriety were twice as numerous in the United States as in the rest of the world between 2005 and 2010. By 2017-2022, the rest of the world had caught up.
Their data also shows that Europe accounts for a bigger share of mass shootings than it used to.
It should be easier for European politicians to act against mass shootings than the United States, due to the central role of guns in American culture and identity, Lankford said.
The European Union has left gun laws and regulation of social media up to member states. Recent killings have seen a drive by several countries to apply tougher rules.
In Sweden, the government agreed to tighten the vetting process for people applying for gun licences and to clamp down on some semi-automatic weapons following the Orebro killings.
Incidents of violence and threatening behaviour in junior high and high schools rose over 150% between 2003 and 2023, according to a report by Sweden's Work Environment Authority.
In Finland, where a 12-year-old shot dead a fellow pupil and badly wounded two others in 2024, schools practice barricading doors and hiding from shooters. The government has also proposed stricter punishments for carrying guns in public.
Following a deadly December knife attack at a Zagreb primary school, Croatia's government tightened access to schools and mandated they must have security guards.
Germany has gradually imposed tighter controls on gun ownership since school massacres in 2002 and 2009, and last year introduced a ban on switchblades and on carrying knives at public events following a series of knife attacks.
Tightening gun ownership was the only way politicians could show they were taking the issue seriously, said Dirk Baier, a criminologist at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
"There will certainly be resistance to this, from hunters, sport shooters, or other lobby groups," he said. "However, I think the arguments for tightening the laws will outweigh the arguments against."
Gun laws have also been a hot political topic in the Czech Republic since a student shot dead 14 people at the Charles University in Prague in December 2023.
The country made it obligatory for gun sellers to report suspicious purchases and requires doctors to check whether people diagnosed with psychological problems hold gun permits.
Britain is holding a public inquiry into an attack in Southport where three young girls were stabbed to death last year.
UK drama "Adolescence", a story about a schoolboy accused of murder, explores concerns about toxic online culture.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron this month pressed for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15 following a fatal school stabbing.
What motivated the Austrian school gunman is still under investigation.
Most such shootings are carried out by young men, and criminologist Lankford said there was a global phenomenon of perpetrators seeking notoriety that eluded them in real life, driven in part by social media.
"Even if the shooters expect to die, some are excited about leaving behind a legacy."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Bigger mess awaits if regime change happens in Iran
ISRAEL increasingly appears eager to oust the leadership that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution but is taking a gamble given the Iranian opposition is divided and there is no guarantee new rulers would be any less hardline, say analysts. By striking targets other than nuclear or ballistic facilities, such as Iran's IRIB broadcaster, expectations have grown that Israel has goals beyond degrading Iranian atomic and missile capabilities and eyes removing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But while United States President Donald Trump has warned "we know" where Khamenei "is hiding", what would follow his removal after over 3½ decades in power is shrouded in uncertainty and risk. European leaders are haunted by the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Nato-led intervention in Libya in 2011. They resulted in the removal of dictators Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi but also in years of bloody mayhem in both countries. "The biggest mistake today is to seek regime change in Iran through military means because that would lead to chaos," said French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the G7 summit in Canada. "Does anyone think that what was done in Iraq in 2003... or what was done in Libya the previous decade was a good idea? No!" he said. Analysts say ousting Khamenei and his fellow leaders risks creating a vacuum that could be filled by hardline elements in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ideological force or the Iranian military. "Israel's strikes seem more focused on regime change than non-proliferation," said Nicole Grajewski, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment. "Of course, Israel is targeting ballistic missile and military related facilities but they are also targeting leadership and symbols of the regime like the IRIB. "If the regime were to fall, the hope would be for a liberal and democratic government. "However, there is a strong likelihood that other powerful entities like the IRGC could emerge as the replacement," she said. Among the highest-profile opposition figures is the US-based Reza Pahlavi, the son of ousted shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He has declared that the Islamic republic is "on the verge of collapse", accusing Khamenei of "hiding underground" like a "frightened rat". Pahlavi has long called for the restoration of the warm relationship that existed between his late father and Israel, to reverse the Islamic republic's refusal to recognise the existence of Israel. Monarchists would like such a rapprochement to be termed the "Cyrus Accords" after the ancient Persian king credited with freeing the Jews from Babylon. But Pahlavi is far from enjoying universal support inside Iran or among exiles. The nationalism of supporters and his ties with Israel are divisive, especially after he refused to condemn the Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Another major organised group is the People's Mujahedin (MEK), whose leader Maryam Rajavi told the European Parliament on Wednesday: "The people of Iran want the overthrow of this regime." But the MEK is despised by other opposition factions and regarded with suspicion by some Iranians for its support of Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war. "Part of the challenge in thinking about alternatives to the Islamic Republic in case it collapses is that there is no organised, democratic alternative," said Thomas Juneau, professor at the University of Ottawa. He said while Pahlavi "who has by far the most name recognition both in and out of Iran", his supporters "tend to exaggerate his support inside the country". "The only alternative — and this is among the worrying scenarios — is a coup d'etat by the Revolutionary Guards or changing from a theocracy to a military dictatorship." Analysts also warn that a potential — and often overlooked — factor for future instability could be Iran's complex ethnic make-up. Large Kurdish, Arab, Baluch and Turkic minorities coexist alongside the Persian population. Analysts at the US-based think tank Soufan Centre said with the survival of the Iranian regime now viewed as a "strategic failure", the prospect of an "Iraq 2.0" is looming. "The post-regime-change scenario remains unpredictable and could trigger regional destabilisation on a scale greater than Iraq, with global ramifications," they said.
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Australia ban bid faces new wildcard: Teenagers
WHEN 13-year-old Jasmine Elkin tried out the age-checking software Australia might use to ban children and teenagers from social media, she was surprised some products could identify a person's age to the month — but she still doubts it will work. "People are always going to find a way to get past it," said the Perth schoolgirl who trialled five photo-based age estimation products with about 30 other students last month. "They can get their brother or sister to take a photo. There's nothing really that you can do about it." Elkin's view echoes one of the main concerns of child protection advocates, tech firms and even the trial organisers about the technology Australia hopes will enable the world's first national social media ban for under-16s: the software works, they say, but young people will find a way around it. From December, social media companies like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok will face a fine of as much as A$49.5 million if they fail to take what the law calls "reasonable steps" to block younger users in an effort to protect their mental and physical health. The platforms say users need to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account. How well the ban works could reverberate across some of the world's largest companies and the governments seeking to contain them: already Britain, France and Singapore are making efforts to keep children and teens off social media, while American states, including Florida, are challenging free speech laws by pushing for a ban. Even the law's opponents are likely to be watching closely: X owner Elon Musk, who is a vocal opponent of platform moderation and regulation, has criticised the measure and called the regulator overseeing it a "censorship commissar". "Everybody is looking at Australia," said Colm Gannon, chief executive officer of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children Australia, a member of the trial's stakeholder adviser group. "Australia should be really focusing on robust technology, robust testing and making sure the scope of the actual project is in line with the needs that they're trying to address." The organisers of the trial, which ended this month, say it was designed to determine whether the software worked as promised, and that nearly 60 products were pitched. But it also underlined the teenagers' tech skills — testers were so fast completing their assignments, organisers doubled the number of products they tested and halved session times as the project progressed. "It hasn't been our intention to pull apart the software, rip the guts out and work out every different way that you could circumvent it," said Andrew Hammond, general manager at tech contractor KJR, which ran the trial. They are expected to deliver a detailed report to the government by the end of next month. That will inform the eSafety Commissioner's advice to the government, which cited risks from cyberbullying, harmful depictions of body image and misogynist content in pushing forward with the legislation. "We know that social media age restrictions will not be the end-all be-all solution for harms experienced by young people online, but it's a step in the right direction to keep our kids safer," said a spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells. For some of the young Australians who participated, the trial was a glimpse into a world six months in the future where, according to the law, they will no longer be allowed to use a platform they have come to rely on for daily communication. "I use it a lot, but I can still live without it," said Canberra school student Charlie Price, 14, who trialled four software options in a room with about 60 peers and had his age guessed accurately (someone in his testing group was wrongly assessed at over 20). "I know people that will get really shocked and upset," added Price, who uses Snapchat, Instagram and messaging platform Discord and plans to collect phone numbers of his online associates before December. Like Elkin, he said he thought some teenagers might try to get around the block.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Malaysian timber exports may gain edge in US market, says FRIM forest products director
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's timber exports may gain a competitive edge in the US market due to higher tariffs imposed on regional rivals such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Vietnam, once a leading furniture exporter in the region, now faces tariffs as high as 46% compared with Malaysia's import levy of 24%, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) director of forest products division Wan Tarmeze Wan Ariffin said. 'US President Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on Vietnam probably because they're afraid China might use Vietnam as a manufacturing hub' to bypass American trade restrictions,' he told Bernama. The United States is the largest buyer of Malaysian furniture, accounting for over half of furniture exports. However, the tariffs announced on April 2 have been paused for 90 days till early July to allow America's trading partners to negotiate for lower tariffs. 'If they don't impose high tariffs on Vietnam, China could exploit that route. So, on paper, the advantage actually lies with us (Malaysia),' he said. In 2022, Malaysia exported timber and timber products worth RM7.73 billion to the US. This was an increase from RM3.76 billion in 2018. Malaysia's timber exports worldwide include furniture, logs, veneer, plywood and medium-density fibreboard. Asked on the challenges faced by the timber industry, Wan Tarmeze said Malaysia's furniture sector primarily relies on processed wood rather than solid timber, with wood-based materials accounting for up to 85% of inputs in the making of the furniture. Wan Tarmeze said the ongoing Iran-Israel military conflict is not expected to have a direct impact on Malaysia's timber exports. Nevertheless, post-conflict reconstruction could open up new market opportunities and raise demand for Malaysian timber. 'Wars often lead to widespread destruction, but once the situation stabilises, there's usually a surge in demand for rebuilding – including homes and infrastructure,' he said. When asked how Malaysia can position itself as a high-value timber exporter rather than a volume-based player, he said the shift ultimately depends on the industry players themselves. 'This has been a long-standing conversation as Malaysia is still heavily reliant on the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) model, manufacturing timber products for others without having its own strong, internationally recognised brands. 'Take IKEA for example, which is a Swedish brand while Italy has its own well-known brand names, but Malaysia has yet to produce a brand that stands out globally,' Wan Tarmeze said. OEM refers to manufacturing products for other brands, whereas original brand manufacturers (OBM) involves developing and marketing products under one's own brand name. Wan Tarmeze said that despite the government's repeated calls for the industry to move from being OEM to OBM, the shift has yet to happen. 'The issue is not about identity but branding, and without branding we can't build value. 'The truth is Malaysia tends to shy away from copying, but we should be more open to learning from others, even 'stealing' ideas in the sense of adapting best practices and making them our own,' he said.
