A growing online subculture that glorifies mass killers is emerging as a threat requiring serious attention from authorities, following several school attack incidents in Malaysia.
Three separate incidents involving schools in Kuching, Sarawak, on Wednesday, Banting, Selangor, in July, and Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, in October 2026, are believed to be linked to the teenagers’ alleged interest in the True Crime Community (TCC) subculture.
Security analyst Munira Mustaffa said the TCC subculture often glorifies mass killings, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in the United States and the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand.
Exposure to the subculture could lead teenagers towards Misanthropic, Nihilistic and Violent Extremism (M/NVE), an ideology that fosters deep hatred towards humanity and society as a whole, she said.
“Public discussions that focus solely on blaming particular online gaming platforms or social media sites are misplaced, as these subcultural networks operate widely across different parts of the surface web,” she told Bernama.
Munira said the threat could be difficult to detect because perpetrators might act alone, often beginning with personal grievances that gradually escalate into hatred towards society.
“They plan their targets, timing and locations carefully, typically choosing easy targets such as schools, and publish manifestos or livestream their actions to gain attention from their subculture community,” she said.
She added that attack methods could be inspired by previous incidents, which perpetrators study carefully to improve their effectiveness and pay tribute to earlier attackers.
To address the threat, Munira stressed the importance of preventing school attacks at an early stage through close cooperation between schools, parents, authorities and students.
She said teenagers might reveal their intentions or plans to their peers, either at school or through online platforms, driven by their young age and desire for attention.
However, Munira cautioned against jumping to conclusions based on isolated behavioural changes or warning signs. Any concerns should be assessed comprehensively, with follow-up action taken only when multiple clear indicators point towards a potential threat.
