FBI analyst discusses combating radicalization as a community
Law enforcement agencies alone will not prevent the next mass murder, FBI Special Intelligence Analyst John Pulcastro said. But if parents and teachers can identify the warning signs of one, they might.
Pulcastro, who works out of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, spoke April 23 at Independence Middle School of what those warning signs might be, and how to tell if an individual is being exposed to violent, extremist thoughts.
“We want to protect our kids, not pick them up off the ground,” Pulcastro said.
In his presentation, Pulcastro said violent extremists and active shooters are similar in many ways. Both will often isolate themselves from friends and family, and both exhibit a fascination with violence; often viewing or sharing violent imagery online.
Both also harbor what Pulcastro called a “grievance narrative,” or the sentiment that they have been wronged by another entity.
“The only difference between a violent extremist and an active shooter is an ideology. A violent extremist has some ideological motivation for the act of violence that they commit. It could be social, it could be religious, it could be political,” Pulcastro said. “An active shooter on the other hand is someone who engages in these acts of violence, and it’s typically based upon a personal grievance narrative.”
Pulcastro told parents to be aware of what communication devices their children are using, saying encrypted apps are becoming increasingly popular with white supremacists, terrorists and other extremist groups. He pointed for example to the case of one unidentified Pittsburgh teenager who was communicating with a group of white supremacists through an online video game.
Dialogue, Pulcastro said, is one of the most effective methods of preventing violence. He cautioned that disparaging an individual’s thoughts or feelings will not deter them from violence, but casting doubt on them can.
The next step, Pulcastro said, would be to try and connect the individual in question to mental health resources. Pulcastro said the system is not perfect, but preventing even one mass attack can save many lives.
“I don’t know if any of us have the solutions,” Bethel Park Superintendent Joseph Pasquerilla said during the presentation. “But we can continue to work together.”