What drives killers like the Ottawa or Paris attackers?

IMAGE:Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 15, 2015-Zehaf-Bibeau, the Islamist convert who recently killed a Canadian military reservist on duty in Ottawa, Canada, represents a type of attacker rarely discussed--a person so obsessed with an overvalued idea that it defines their identity and leads them to commit violence without regard for the consequences. Although it appears that the assailants in Paris had more ties with terrorist organizations, the individuals still fit the description of people acting on overvalued ideas. This emerging, and likely growing phenomenon is explored in the article, published in the Perspectives section of the journal, "Lone Wolf Killers: A Perspective on Overvalued Ideas," published in the peer-reviewed journal Violence and Gender, from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website.

Author Matthew H. Logan, PhD, a 28-year veteran officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as an RCMP Criminal Investigative Psychologist (ret.), Ontario, Canada, explains that these killers do not always work alone, stating that "in the future I believe we will see more 'packs' of these wolves as they unite on common beliefs and themes."

"The violence we witnessed in Paris just days ago shook the world," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "It was coldblooded, purposeful, and seemingly without remorse, driven by a unique self-righteous ideation of the killers. Dr. Matt Logan explains the 'motivating mindset' of young male offenders, sometimes loners and sometimes part of a group, whose 'overvalued ideas' combined with their own psychopathology is what motivates them to engage in this type of terror. 'Overvalued ideas do not constitute mental illness,' according to Dr. Logan, which makes this senseless, savage violence seem even more chilling and despicable."

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About the Journal

Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Violence and Gender website.