Grievance-Fuelled Violence and School Shootings: Understanding Tumbler Ridge with Emily Corner

Synopsis: In this episode of Secure Line, Steph and Jess unpack one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history and ask a difficult but essential question: can understanding the perpetrator help prevent future violence?To help make sense of the attack in Tumbler Ridge, the hosts are joined by Dr. Emily Corner, Associate Professor at Australian National University and one of the world’s leading experts on lone-actor terrorism and grievance-fuelled violence. Drawing on years of research across terrorism, mass shootings, and fixated individuals, Dr. Corner explains why rigid labels—such as “terrorism” or “school shooting”— can hinder analysis and understanding.The conversation explores what grievance-fuelled violence actually is, how it overlaps with (and differs from) terrorism, and why personal grievances, instability, and perceived injustice so often sit at the core of acts of mass violence. The episode also tackles emerging concepts like nihilistic violent extremism, the growing involvement of minors, the limits of ideology-based explanations, and why mental health is an important, but never causal, part of the story.Grounded in evidence and focused on prevention, this episode offers essential context for understanding contemporary mass violence in Canada and beyond.