According to Christoffer Carlsson, society can do a lot to prevent both terrorist acts and so-called insane acts, such as Wednesday's assassination attempt in Vetlanda, but unfortunately it is not possible to completely eliminate it.
- But when it has gone so far that people step out on the street armed, then it is virtually impossible to defend themselves, he says.
- Unfortunately, this is what a society must live with.
Common denominator
Christoffer Carlsson, whose research has been very much about insanity, says that there are a number of common denominators among the perpetrators.
- Two of the most common are acute mental illness in the form of psychoses and delusions.
And then there is the drug impact, he says.
The act itself often lacks logic and is instead impulsive and unplanned, says Christoffer Carlsson.
In addition, the perpetrator rarely has any relationship with his victims and they also have no relationship with each other.
- They happen to be in the same place when it happens, he says.
Trigger events
What, then, makes people commit such crimes?
In criminology, people talk about 'trigger events', says Christoffer Carlsson, something that is the igniting spark.
It can be a negative event in the person's life, but it can also be a long process that suddenly fails.
The act in Vetlanda differs in a way from other similar crimes, namely that it has not yet claimed any lives, which unfortunately is often the case, Christoffer Carlsson continues.
- This time it does not seem to have happened.