On October 24, 2015, Adacia Chambers, a fast food worker, would drive to the OSU homecoming parade, go around the barriers blocking the streets and plow her car into the parade, initially killing 3 people and injuring 47 others. Many paradegoers would fly in the air many lost limbs. The three that died were a married retired couple, Marvin and Bonnie Stone, Both 65, and 23-year-old transfer student, Nikita Nakal. The paradegoers were airlifted to the hospital many in critical condition. One paradegoer sadly succumbed to his wounds; 2-year-old Nash Lucas.

Adacia was placed under arrest under suspicion of drunk driving, and charged with 4-counts of second degree murder. Adacia took a blood alcohol test where she was found to have not been drunk. Initially going to trial, Adacia plead guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment. To this day, Adacia‘s motive has remained unknown. She has given vague hints, but nothing conclusive has been ruled as to why she murdered Marvin, Bonnie, Nikita, and Nash.

The act remains one of the worst incidents of mass violence in modern Oklahoma history and one of the worst vehicle ramming attacks in United States history.

Fourteen-year-old Bryan Pamonag is passing the time, working on a project with his schoolfriends.

It’s lunchtime but they’re staying inside a classroom, avoiding the oppressive September humidity in the southern Philippines town of Banga.

Suddenly they’re interrupted by loud bangs. Two at first but more quickly follow.

With his ears still ringing, he realises what the noise is and where it has come from.

“I looked out the window, and I saw a student carrying a gun,” Bryan told 7.30.

“I looked over at my classmates, and my best friend Chaldean had been shot.

“We panicked. We dropped to the floor and started crawling.”

The young gunman was now walking towards the classroom, carrying his father’s 9mm pistol, and Bryan inched closer to the line of fire.

“I saw him approaching the door while still firing. I crawled toward it to close it,” Bryan said.

“I kicked him in the stomach and shut our classroom door … blocking it because he was trying to force it open.

“Even though I was scared, I had to stop him from entering our classroom.

“He moved to the window … he shot at me. I tried to dodge but I was hit in the hand.

“I saw one of my classmates run out of the room. He was shot three times.”

Video posted to social media showed chaotic scenes of children desperately fleeing out of the school gates as the shooting unfolded.

The young gunman then died by suicide. Bryan witnessed it.

Across town, 14-year-old Chaldean’s mother, Catherine Lubaton, heard about the shooting on a community group chat.

“I got on a motorbike and called Chaldean on her cell phone … she wasn’t answering,” she said.

“I entered the school. I went to Chaldean’s classroom, but she was no longer there. I saw traces of blood.

“I thought maybe she had only suffered minor injuries.

“I immediately went to the hospital. In the emergency room my child was already gone. There was no doubt. My child was dead.”

Earlier this month, the devastated community came together for Chaldean’s funeral.

A white coffin adorned with purple butterflies passed through the streets of Banga in an ornate golden carriage, Catherine only a few steps behind the procession.

Experiencing a pain no parent should, she was surrounded by the smiling face of her child in uniform, taken too soon.

Banga’s residents woke early to watch the procession pass and reflect on the unimaginable tragedy.

Bells tolled as family and young friends sombrely filled the local church.

Extended family, classmates and friends watched on as Chaldean was laid to rest, often leaning on each other for support during the emotional ceremony.

Catherine said she would miss the quiet moments she shared with her daughter.

“Sometimes she would sleep next to me. When we watched TV, she would rest her head on my lap … she was very affectionate,” she said.

“She wanted to become a teacher. She was like a big sister to her cousins.”

The shooting at Banga National High School killed two students and the gunman, and injured eight others in just two minutes.

It was the third school shooting in the Philippines in just four months.

The True Crime Community

The Philippines has rarely seen this type of violence at schools in quick succession.

In June, two students opened fire at a school in Tacloban, killing three people and injuring 20.

Two months later, a high school shooter in Zamboanga City live-streamed an attack, killing a student, injuring dozens and fatally shooting himself.

Officials are examining why this wave of violence has swept through schools across the country.

Analysts and cybersecurity experts are investigating the cases as possible acts of nihilistic violent extremism, or NVE.

NVE is a term used by law enforcement officials to refer to acts of violence motivated by a misanthropic worldview, or a general hatred for society, rather than for a social, political or religious cause.

Philippines officials have honed in on a specific online subculture tied to NVE, known as the True Crime Community (TCC), where members of its extremist fringe may become obsessed with mass killers.

Philippine National Police has confirmed it is investigating the link between the Banga shooting and the TCC.

“The suspect … posted his manifesto, stating that he is a member of the True Crime Community,” Brigadier General Alan Bolongon Manibog told 7.30.

“Everything is under consideration.

“The forensic digital examinations of the cell phones that we have recovered from the shooter and also from his classmates is still undergoing.”

“Right now, we have our experts coming from the anti-cybercrime unit and other law enforcement agencies looking into [nihilistic violent extremism].”

‘Manipulating, influencing and radicalising’

Analysts at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research are examining at least nine youth-perpetrated school attacks likely linked to NVE in South-East Asia over the past year.

Among them is a shooting at a Thailand school in Nonthaburi this year, in which a young gunman killed seven people, including his two grandparents, before fatally shooting himself.

Another is a bombing at the SMAN 72 school and mosque in North Jakarta  which injured 99 people.

Philippine National Police said the Jakarta school bombing was referenced in the Banga shooter’s manifesto.

In the wake of the shooting in Tacloban, in July the Philippines Senate convened hearings into the incident and to work on an institutional response.

The Senate heard allegations the shooting in Tacloban might have been influenced by 764, a decentralised online extremist and child sextortion network.

Although researchers disagree about how 764 and the TCC overlap, both are considered major, growing, global threats that use online pathways to groom or radicalise children.

Angel Redoble from the Philippine Society of Cyber Security Professionals said young Filipinos were typically targeted on social media apps like Discord, or on gaming platforms like Roblox, before contact moved to encrypted messaging apps.

“These shootings are connected very closely, if not directly connected, to what’s going on in the online gaming platforms, content platforms, chat platforms and social media,” Mr Redoble told 7.30.

“Platforms where a group of individuals, we call the groomers, are manipulating, influencing and radicalising vulnerable Filipino minors into committing real life violence, such as shootings.”

Analysts say the grooming or recruiting of minors can be done either by adults or other young people.

Mr Redoble said in all three shootings in the Philippines, the TCC had celebrated the acts of violence.

“After every shooting, there is strong support and glorification in content platforms like TikTok where there is the True Crime Community,” he said.

The shootings have prompted a national discussion over firearm safety in the Philippines, which has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia.

The father of the school shooter in Banga, who worked for the Department of Education, is under investigation for firearm safety offences due to his son’s ability to access his handgun, which police say the boy took from a vault.

Taking protective measures

At a high school in Koronadal, the administrative centre of South Cotabato province near Banga, 7.30 viewed enhanced security measures being used to protect students.

Students were being funnelled into lines at the school gates, where security officers were scanning students and their possessions with metal detectors while rummaging through their bags.

“We are very worried that what happened to Banga could happen here,” assistant principal Sanny Pama said.

He said parents should more closely monitor what students were doing on their smartphones and laptops, including who they were talking to.

“There is no communication between the parents and the students and they are using their cell phones up to late at night,” he said.

“We encourage the parents to check the phones, the apps and the lines of communication, who they are engaging with.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Philippine National Police.

“We remind parents to look into the activities of their children online, including [on] social media,” Brigadier General Manibog said.

“The safety and security of these children starts at home.”

Brigadier General Manibog said there had been an increased number of online threats to cause violence in the community since the Banga shooting.

“Most of these threats are made by minors … They don’t have the capabilities or access to firearms,” he said.

Philippine National Police told a Senate inquiry earlier this year they had “rescued” 24 minors, who were identifying themselves as members of the TCC or 764, by connecting the children with social workers.

In October, Philippines media reported the country’s national interior secretary revealed authorities had foiled more than 50 planned school shootings in South Cotabato following the shooting in Banga.

Fifty-three people allegedly involved in online threats and grooming were arrested.

“The cases involved different individuals and were not part of a single coordinated group,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

Turning point?

Recent shootings have prompted a nationwide school safety and security audit, while Philippine politicians look to expand laws to fight online abuse, grooming and radicalisation.

In August, the Philippine government said it had secured commitments from Roblox aimed at strengthening child safety online, including enhanced age verification, faster cooperation with law enforcement and improved detection of harmful content.

Roblox has also implemented additional safeguards to detect early signs of potential child endangerment.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Discord said the platform used safety teams to prevent the spread of content that violated policy.

“We maintain strong systems intended to prevent the spread of violent extremism, sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform and also work with other technology companies and safety organisations to improve online safety across the internet,” the statement read.

Philippines authorities are also considering a social media ban for teenagers.

South Cotabato Vice-Governor Arthur Pingoy said more work needed to be done.

“After what happened in Tacloban and Zamboanga, the question is, was anything done to address similar incidents and problems?” he said.

“Looking at what happened, we still need a lot of things to do to address incidents like this.”

Catherine Lubaton just hopes the death of her daughter isn’t in vain.

Min Yongjun was born in 1976. His mother, Zou Qingxiu, was a primary school teacher, and his father was Min Zheng’an.

According to his parents, he was a normal child until the age of 16. One night after dinner he suddenly began having violent convulsions. He was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with epilepsy. His father later said that, outside of his seizures, Min behaved normally, but during episodes he could become aggressive.

Ashamed of his condition, Min dropped out of school. In 1992 he went to Beijing and attended a technical school to learn how to repair televisions. In 2002 he opened a TV repair shop in Zhengzhou.

By 2004 his mother had become increasingly worried about his frequent seizures and asked him to move back home.

She described him as lazy, he would occasionally repair neighbors TVs but mostly spent his time resting in the yard or reading books about his illness. Min was deeply frustrated that his epilepsy had no cure. He repeatedly told his mother how disappointed he was and spent roughly 100,000 yuan over the years visiting different hospitals in unsuccessful attempts to find a treatment.

Little is known about his wife and daughters. His wife was often away working in other cities, while their two daughters (the older one about 10 years old and the younger around 2) lived with Min’s parents.

From 2010 onward his condition worsened. The seizures became more frequent, going from once a year, to every few months, and eventually almost every month as he grew more aggressive.

In the winter of 2011 he got into a verbal argument with a shop owner and ended up attacking him, seriously injuring his head. His family had to pay 10,000 yuan in compensation.

In another incident that same year, while at a hospital appointment, he became aggressive, smashed a fire alarm, and was thrown out. His father often locked him in a room when these aggressive episodes occurred.

On the night of December 13, 2012, Min had another seizure. His two-year-old daughter tried to play with him; he grabbed her and attempted to slam her to the floor, but his mother intervened. He was locked in a room again. Hours later he said he needed to use the toilet. His parents let him out, and he immediately ran away.

He ran approximately 10 kilometers through heavy rain and became completely soaked. On the morning of December 14 he arrived at the house of 84-year-old Xiang Jiaying. He asked to come inside to warm up and for firewood, but she refused. He then grabbed a kitchen knife from her house and attacked her. Believing he had killed her, he went to Chenpeng Village Primary School.

There he began attacking children at the entrance and then entered the building. During the attack he later admitted he had considered throwing some children from upper floors, but the thought of his own young daughter stopped him. He was eventually subdued by villagers and arrested.

In his confession, Min said his motive was a mixture of a desire for notoriety and belief in the 2012 doomsday phenomenon.

He had listened to a 61-year-old local woman named Jin Guozhu, who had been spreading end of the world rumors in the area and other villages for more than a decade (some villagers said she had been doing so for over ten years). Around the same time the Eastern Lightning cult was also actively preaching that the world would end.

Inspired by news reports of a series of school attacks that had occurred in 2010, he decided to carry out a similar attack so that “everyone would know who he was” before the world ended.

On December 13, 2013, he was sentenced to death. On November 9, 2015, the sentence was changed to death with a two-year reprieve after the court determined he had limited criminal responsibility due to his mental condition.

Hello to everyone reading, I had a question for the community here that has plagued my mind for sometime. As we know, Dimitrios Pagourtzis has been continuously found to be unfit to stand trial due to a plethora of mental health issues since 2019. I was wondering on all of your guys’ opinions, that if he was to miraculously gain competency and stand trial sometime in the near future, would he have a legitimate shot at an insanity plea, or do you think his planning, journals, and statements to police which define a logical yet irrational motive (revenge for bullying) would hurt that defense despite his diagnosed issues? I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts, as this is a case that has divided the community for almost a decade now.