Online extremism networks linked to Colorado school shooting, ADL finds

Evergreen High School in Colorado faced a deadly confrontation last week when 16-year-old Desmond Holly opened fire in a cafeteria, wounding two students before turning the gun on himself during lunch recess. Authorities say the gunman was the sole fatality in the incident, which marked the 47th school shooting reported in the United States this year. Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office indicated Holly appeared to have been radicalized by an unspecified online group of extremists, though they did not provide further detail.

The Anti-Defamation League conducted a forensic review of Holly’s digital footprint and found engagement in extremist spaces that the group described as a dangerous online ecosystem. The ADL said Holly participated in a gore-sharing forum and was active in the True Crime Community, or TCC, a sprawling network of forums and social media groups that idolize mass shooters and often fetishize violence. ADL officials emphasized that the overlap of graphic content with extremist glorification is what makes these spaces uniquely dangerous, describing them as environments that can numb young users to violence while offering social validation through likes and comments.

According to the ADL, Holly’s online footprint was not unique. The same forums and circles have been linked to multiple other high-profile attacks over the past 10 months, suggesting an online underground that can influence vulnerable teens. An expert from the ADL Center on Extremism told the Daily Mail that while motive is not always clear, a through-line exists among these shootings, with attackers feeding off one another and seeking glorification in these spaces. The ADL noted that Holly, like several other shooters, used social media and gore sites to signal devotion to past attackers and to seek a sense of belonging within these communities.

The ADL’s review links Holly’s activity to several earlier tragedies and to a broader pattern in which online spaces glorify killers. For instance, the gore-sharing site WatchPeopleDie has also drawn in Natalie Rupnow, a Wisconsin shooter who killed two people and injured six others in December 2024; Rupnow reportedly engaged with graphic posts there and referenced Columbine, fueling speculation about inspiration. The site’s origin traces back to Reddit, where graphic death videos and gruesome content were once posted before it was restricted; the site now operates on its own server and remains accessible after a two-step age and terms confirmation. The ADL describedWatchPeopleDie as a hub where participants can access unredacted manifests from mass shooters and exposed content related to past attacks.

Beyond WatchPeopleDie, Holly was described as an active participant in the True Crime Community, a network that has long celebrated figures such as the Columbine gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The ADL noted that Columbine’s mythos — depicting the attackers as bullied outsiders who fought back — persists in these spaces, even as the historical truth differs. Posts within the TCC often meme or praise the shooters, while tributes and idolizations reinforce a narrative in which violence is rewarded or normalized. The ADL stressed that this constellation of gore-sharing, extremist content, and glorification can create a dangerous feedback loop that some vulnerable teens may imitate.

In Holly’s case, the ADL found his TikTok activity included white supremacist symbolism. The agency said his accounts displayed references to white supremacist rhetoric, and his profile pictures and posts aligned with imagery associated with extremist ideologies. In at least one post, Holly wore a shirt bearing a symbol linked to prior mass shooters’ iconography, and he interacted with content suggesting he ought to “make a move.” The ADL also noted that some of his anonymous accounts had been flagged by the FBI in July for concerning activity, though a spokesperson said the bureau was still working to identify him at the time of last week’s shooting and that there was no probable cause for federal action against the account holder at that stage.

The investigation has drawn parallels to other incidents tied to the same online ecosystems. The ADL cited a Minnesota shooting at an Annunciation Catholic Church and School in which a shooter linked to TCC imagery carried out an attack, echoing the patterns observed in Holly’s case. The evergreen proximity to Columbine, located about 20 miles away in Colorado, has intensified concern that the Columbine-era narrative continues to shape contemporary online culture around mass violence. The timing of the Evergreen High incident — occurring the same day as a separate incident in which political figures and public figures faced violence — underscores the broader question of how social media ecosystems intersect with real-world violence.

Officials have said that motive remains under investigation and that no single explanation can account for these tragedies. What is clear, according to the ADL, is that the combination of gore content and extremist glorification creates a potent environment that can influence impressionable teens. A spokesperson for the ADL Center on Extremism said the real danger lies in echo chambers that normalize violence and reward destructive behavior, especially when there is ongoing social validation for past shooters. The ADL said platform accountability, school engagement, policy responses, and proactive law enforcement collaboration are all part of addressing what it calls a rising risk across the online landscape.

The FBI’s involvement in the case reflects the complexity of tracking online behavior linked to violence. In July, FBI officials flagged some of Holly’s anonymous accounts as potentially concerning, but they emphasized that the investigation remained ongoing and that identity had not been established for federal action at that time. The agency stressed that it cannot rely on a single incident to determine a broader threat and that coordination with local authorities is critical to understanding this dynamic.

The ADL’s findings illuminate a broader crisis in which violent content, extremist ideologies, and celebratory depictions of mass violence circulate across online spaces that are accessible to teenagers with relative ease. As platforms refine their moderation policies, schools assess how to address digital-risk factors in students’ lives, and policymakers look for effective regulations, the ADL urged a collective response. The group warned that if nothing changes, a new tragedy could unfold in a matter of days or weeks, a warning that echoes across a landscape where graphic material and extremist ideology can travel far faster than prevention resources can keep pace.

Evergreen High School sits within striking distance of a site imbued with national memory of mass violence, a reminder of how past events can cast a long shadow over current fears. School officials returned to their responsibilities of educating students while also acknowledging the broader risk signals that may emerge in the digital era. While administrators and law enforcement pursue leads, families and communities await answers about what catalyzed this crisis and how to prevent the next one. The case remains under investigation as authorities continue to untangle the web of online influences and real-world consequences that the ADL says are now inseparable from modern acts of violence.