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Possible Mass Murder Thwarted by 4Chan Readers

A would-be mass shooter in the Netherlands was thankfully arrested before he could do any harm. Turns out he frightened enough people with his murder manifesto that he published on 4Chan, a site similar to Reddit.

In the post published anonymously, the author stated:

"I will shoot my Dutch teacher and as many students as I can," the message in English read.

"It's at a school in the Dutch city of Leiden and, for more proof, I will be using a 9mm Colt Defender.

"Oh, and I'm using a proxy. The police is [sic] not gonna find me before tomorrow."

As a result, authorities were alerted, and the city of Leiden shut down secondary schools as a precaution. A suspect has since been arrested.

While the person’s identity has not yet been released, we now know the individual is male and is a former student of a British school who was expelled in 2011 due to bad behavior.

Posting a manifesto hours or days before the incident is to take place has become common practice for those who intend to commit acts of violence.

Some recent examples have been Christopher Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer who went on a killing spree in February, as well as Jared Loughner, the Arizona killer who in 2011 opened fire at an event that seriously injured former Rep. Gabby Giffords. Both posted their grievances online, which were unfortunately discovered after the fact.

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Ilana Glazer

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