Motivations - Ideological

Austin David Thompson carried out a mass shooting in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood on October 13, 2022, killing five people and injuring two others. Thompson, who was 15 at the time, first killed his 16-year-old brother James inside their home before leaving the house and shooting people in the surrounding neighborhood, including off-duty Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres. He later pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and additional charges. In February 2026, Thompson was sentenced to five consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

Mark Daniel Gooch murdered 27-year-old Mennonite teacher Sasha Krause in January 2020 after travelling from Arizona to the Mennonite community where she lived near Farmington, New Mexico. Krause disappeared on January 18 while retrieving materials for a Sunday school class, and her body was discovered more than a month later in the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. She had been shot in the head and her wrists were bound. Gooch, who had been raised in the Mennonite faith but later rejected it, was convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping in October 2021 and sentenced to natural life imprisonment plus five years for kidnapping in January 2022.

Nikita Casap is an American convicted double murderer who killed his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, at their home in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in February 2025. Prosecutors established that the killings were committed to obtain money, weapons and independence to carry out a planned assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump using an explosive-laden drone. Casap pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and, in March 2026, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant became internationally known after carrying out the Christchurch mosque attacks on March 15, 2019. He attacked worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people and injuring 40 others before being arrested by police. Tarrant later pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one terrorism charge. In 2020, he became the first person in New Zealand to receive a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Luigi Mangione became internationally known after being accused of assassinating a major American healthcare executive in New York City in 2024. The killing shocked the United States not only because of the high-profile target, but also because authorities alleged the attack was ideologically motivated and carefully planned. Following his arrest, Mangione rapidly became one of the most discussed criminal figures in modern America. The case generated enormous political and cultural debate surrounding healthcare systems, online radicalization, anti-corporate extremism and public reactions to targeted violence. His background as a highly educated young man from a privileged upbringing further intensified national fascination surrounding the case.

Dezi Freeman became one of Australia’s most notorious fugitives after allegedly murdering two Victorian police officers during a police raid at a rural property near Porepunkah in 2025. The shocking ambush triggered one of the largest manhunts in Australian history after Freeman disappeared into rugged alpine bushland heavily armed and determined to avoid capture. The case generated enormous national attention because Freeman allegedly shot police officers serving a warrant connected to child abuse material investigations before vanishing into the wilderness for more than seven months. His eventual death in a police shootout near the Victoria-New South Wales border in March 2026 brought an end to a massive tactical operation that consumed police resources across multiple states.

Anders Behring Breivik is a Norwegian domestic terrorist responsible for the 2011 attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utøya, the deadliest act of violence in Norway since World War II. His coordinated attack involved a car bombing followed by a mass shooting, resulting in 77 deaths. Breivik was arrested on the day of the attacks and later convicted of terrorism and mass murder. He received the maximum sentence under Norwegian law, with provisions allowing for indefinite extension based on continued risk.

Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo became one of Mexico's most notorious serial killers after leading a violent criminal cult that combined ritualistic beliefs with narcotics trafficking during the 1980s. Operating primarily in Mexico City and Matamoros, Constanzo and his followers carried out numerous murders as part of ceremonies they believed would provide supernatural protection and success. The discovery of multiple victims at his ranch in 1989 exposed one of the most disturbing criminal conspiracies in Mexican history.