ABSTRACT
It is probably true to say that when people think of copycat or imitation behaviour in a terrorism context they think of a perpetrator copying or imitating the most recent attack. After a while this impetus fades away and any subsequent attack is viewed as a more or less unique incident. Although there may very well be an initial period during which a copycat offender is more motivated to attack and, if he does not, his motivation dissipates to some extent, it is also the case that offenders may imitate predecessors whose attacks took place a very long time ago. Examples of these two – immediate and delayed – copycat effects can be found in the ‘school shootings’ context. Perpetrators of school shootings have stated their intention to attempt to do the shooting ‘better’ than their predecessors by killing more people (Robertz 2007). The Columbine High School massacre perpetrated by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in April 1999 appears to have inspired copycat offenses. One of the most immediate was the shooting perpetrated by T.J. Solomon in May 1999 at Heritage High School, about one month after Columbine. 1 Well into the 2000s, however, prospective perpetrators have apparently been motivated to copy the Columbine incident. 2
