Explainer: True Crime Community

 On September 10, 2025, a 16-year-old student opened fire at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado, injuring two students. The attacker was active in the True Crime Community (TCC), a subculture of online networks and forums dedicated to mass shooters and gore content (i.e., videos of extreme violence). On TikTok, his profile photo was a modified image of the 2014 Isla Vista shooter. There, he also posted a photo of the 2024 Abundant Life Christian School shooter, and in the comments, other TikTok users encouraged him to be a “hero” (i.e., carry out his own attack). The Evergreen shooting followed a series of attacks in which the shooters had also been active in the TCC, including the 2024 Antioch High School shooting and the 2025 Annunciation Catholic Church School shooting. This explainer answers key questions about the TCC, including what it is, why young people are drawn to it, how it is connected to other violent online subcultures, and implications for prevention and intervention.