Toxic online subcultures fuelling Asia’s school attacks

Security experts urge vigilance as teenagers across Southeast Asia turn to radical online networks that celebrate notorious mass murderers

Recent school attacks across Malaysia have shone a light on a troubling trend of teenagers joining an online subculture that glamorises real-life killers, according to a prominent security analyst.

Three violent incidents in Malaysian schools – in Kuching on October 21, Banting in July and Bandar Utama in October last year – could be linked to the True Crime Community (TCC), said Munira Mustaffa, founder of Kuala Lumpur-based security consulting firm Chasseur Group.

In the Kuching case, the suspect live-streamed an axe attack on a teacher, while a female student who stabbed her schoolmate in Banting flashed an “OK” hand gesture in a TikTok video posted before the assault.

The TCC subculture typically glorifies serial killers and mass murderers – such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the United States – while instilling a narrative among members that the world is cruel towards them. Adam Lanza, who murdered 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, had reportedly taken part in similar online communities before the killings.