Helsingborg knife attack suspect linked to violent online subculture

A 12-year-old boy suspected of stabbing a five-year-old girl in Helsingborg had ties to an online account that shared content glorifying mass killers, according to a joint investigation by Helsingborgs Dagblad and Expo cited by SVT.

The TikTok account, linked to the boy through a relative, earlier this year posted tributes to perpetrators of mass violence, including the Columbine school shooters and Anton Lundin Pettersson, who killed three people in Trollhättan in 2015.

The content aligns with the True Crime Community (TCC), an online subculture where young people—often obsessively—idolize mass murderers and school shooters. Swedish authorities categorize such behavior under the term “violence-affirming misanthropy,” a form of extremism driven less by ideology than by a fascination with violence itself.

The term gained traction after a series of knife attacks in Hässelby and Borås in late 2024 and early 2025, carried out by two 14-year-old boys active in another violent subculture, the Com network, which includes groups like 764 and No Lives Matter.

Critics argue the label is too broad or downplays far-right influences present in some of these circles. In the Borås case, the attacker initially planned to target a Muslim but ultimately chose a victim at random—Marie Ekström, who was walking her dog.

Both TCC and 764 attract young, often socially isolated individuals who feel wronged and may have mental health struggles. A former 764 member told SVT the group offered a sense of belonging and validation. The pursuit of status is central, with some seeking to emulate mass killers as role models.