The Shooter TikTok "Influencer" 

setting himself up as a victim before confessing to THAT... immediately killed any integrity

the tone in his voice is disgusting. he brought a gun to school but didn’t want to kill anyone?? the fact he’s even allowed to have a tiktok or any form of social media is disgusting.

FYI, in his statement to the police after the events themselves, he quite literally admitted that he attempted to aim at the kids in the hallway with the first two rounds. Witness statements from said kids also corroborate this. Besides, the note he left behind made it quite clear that he held resetment towards certain staff members, and he also sent a warning text to one of his friend at the school. Nobody is being cynical about him: it is an objective fact that he is spreading lies about the motivations of his crime, which makes it pretty clear that he does not have the best intentions about his TikTok career.

every cent he’s making should be going to that teacher and charities.

“i was not there to kill anybody” yeah that’s why u showed up to school with a gun and shot someone. be fr.

His attempt to show pain and anguish feels rehearsed and is disgusting. He should not have a platform.

I heard a forensic psychologist say that perpetrators say “the gun went off” instead of “I shot him” because they are trying to distance themselves from the crime. That they don’t want to take full responsibility.

Says alot that he was too scared to pull the trigger on himself but wasn't scared to kill other innocent kids,this guy is a tool and I hope he feels so much shame he leaves tiktok what an attention seeker

I’m a teacher. No one is doing anything realistic to end school shooters. This isn’t surprising at all, the way these “people” don’t care about punishment, only the attention and admiration they’ll receive. I don’t feel sorry for this “person”; he wanted attention, he admits it. Then what does he do? Go on social media and gets that attention from his evil acts. People like him should be ashamed to even show their faces in public.

There’s something that’s very inauthentic about him. I don’t know what it is but there’s just something off about him

He admitted what he wanted in the first video - to be remembered. This is his way to be remembered so that's his only reasoning.

I wonder what this guy's classmates have to say about him trying to get synpathy

the whole getting choked up and teary whilst recounting his attack made me sick. he's recording a tiktok, he can edit those bits out and make himself seem more put together but it's like he went out of his way to make us see that he's sad because he was so depressed that he was gonna shoot up his school. Idk if any of u have seen it but he did a tiktok live interview with aunt karen (not a fan of hers) and he seemingly got offended when she said the reason why he didn't kill anyone was because he was a poor shot. He was immediately defensive and said how he aimed at the ceiling. And just like G said, if he didn't want to kill anyone, why was the gun loaded? walking around a school with a shotgun is more than enough to scare people, if he wanted to suicide by cop he didn't need to do anymore than walk around waving the gun. becoming viral on tiktok is his way of being remembered, he didnt suceed with being a school shooter, he didn't suceed after the sword attack so this is his 3rd attempt of gaining some noteriety. I hope he's miserable and lonely his entire life.

To me his narcissism was on full display when he said “I didn’t turn the gun on myself because I didn’t want to be forgotten”

The fact that he says “I am a school shooter” and not “I was” is wild..

I remember that I saw a video from a live on tiktok where a woman named Auntkaren0 was calling him out and said that the only reason why he didn’t killed those innocent people was because he was “poor shot” and he got so offended by it. It wasn’t because from she said. It was because she called him a “poor shot.”

These school shooters are covert narcissists. I definitely think him bringing up “muh my mental health and how school systems failed us” seems like an excuse, which narcissists tend to do. This does scare me that this could influence other people, but to be fair, you can try and exploit anything at this point. This dude maybe needs a variety of content cause just focusing on school shootings looks like he trying to profit. And you’re right, it would appear more honest if he was actually open to his initial emotions, maybe he does in videos idk. Always looks fake when someone looks “hollier than thou” attitude.

If this doesn’t literally encourage others to become a school shooter to then turn around and “repent” and gain internet clout, idk what will.

the video itself from him feels like…someone auditioning for a role in a movie…

Wishing the worst for him

The people who commit these crimes expect everyone to bend over backwards to understand them and accept whatever bs they're spouting with little to no regard for their victims but for their feelings. Seriously? They have no right to make such demands. They have to live with the fact that most people will always judge you on that sin no matter how you think you've redeemed yourself

i don't think there's anything inherently wrong with people moving on and doing better and trying to reach out and prevent people from becoming like you but that doesn't seem like it's what he's doing. he's being so dramatic.

He clearly has deep mental illness. He sounds like a person who is trying to sound authentic. Like impersonating an impersonator. A little eerie. I see his intentions but I don’t know if someone like that truly has the capacity to be selfless

Not only did he lie about his motivations, he's been found to be following school shooting survivors (not from his school) on TikTok as well. It's been a trip. He's since turned his comments off.I guess he doesn't actually wanna learn.

He just wants attention and fame, nothing new. The disgusting and disappointing part is that he's actually receiving it. He doesnt deserve praise or any of the positive words he's been getting.

This guys statement gave the creeps. Had to skip it. He doesn’t feel anything about what he’s done. Sick dude.

He doesn’t even sound authentic, like his voice sounds like he’s cosplaying a healed person that is overly altruistic and believes he’s owed forgiveness/redemption because he has made the effort to heal himself

Thanks for sharing this G, honestly I'm just (in general) sick and tired of the romanticization of mental illness, criminals, and violence... it's gotten so out of control. Ten years ago I never would have DREAMED this discussion (a school shooter influencer) would even be possible. 😞

He had all that time / therapy talk to justify to himself why he supposedly did it. No normal person does that. No matter how hurt they are .

It's crazy how he made his account on the basis of trying to "rehabilitate" people that had similar thoughts to him, yet is only using it to perpetuate racism and to try to make people feel bad for him

There’s nothing behind his eyes. I don’t trust him.

interesting that in regards to being attacked he says he's learned to be "angry at the action and not the actor." which is a real convenient way of saying no-one should be angry at him for being a school shooter. comes off as self-righteous trying to look like a martyr, as well as being very disconcerting.

People have already pointed out his retelling is BS and i dont know how he thought he was going to be able to spin this tale like everyone wouldnt find out he was violent and hateful and went there to hurt people

He should never have been on TikTok and should never have started the account. He doesn't show that he cares about how school shootings affect anyone hurt or anyone mentally scared this shows he has little to no respect for anyone affected just fame and money.

I loved the "pause, sniff, look into distance to compose yourself" beautiful work. The fact that it was during the shouty, "I don't want" phase and right before we went back to a "pained whisper". Bravo Sir, Bravo! 🙄 Dear God 🙄 Don't often comment but this guy!! While I am just wanted to add; love your channel 💝. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your content. It really is appreciated 💙. Take care and all the very very best for the future. Wishing you every happiness 💕 Edit: Sorry, just seen the hospital bed "scene" wtf!! Couldn't agree with you more. I thought Act I was inauthentic but this....Lord! Act II has everything: Perfectly pitched voice with the obligatory wobbles as he fights the tears threatening to overwhelm him, his trauma, the attackers trauma, anger at "The System", explosive action scenes where he did his own stunts (not really, I made that up but why the hell not - everything else is there!!) Oh my!

I think he might have started with the sword incident as a way to be like, I forgave my attacker, you can forgive me too! Or maybe there really was no manipulation and he just thought people would recognize him from that... who knows. Either way, he's making the worst thing he's done his whole personality and that's almost glorifying it.

First of all, I do agree with every point you mentioned in that video. Second, maybe it is just me... but I found his wording and the way he spun the narrative while he was retelling his expierence in this long introduction video really concerning. It sounded a lot like he was narrating a well thought out monologue within a story rather than him coming come clean with his past. It was also the very specific way he painted himself as a victim - mind you, he even compared his situation with veterans and other people with serious mental health issues - which made him sound dishonest to me. Also he is pretty much contradicting himself by claiming that he doesn't want any attention, yet he is using TikTok as his platform and then promoting a podcast he was on? It really is giving me the ick. And I agree with the whole sword attack thing. He is trying to push the narrative of forgiveness and giving second chances. I don't really think that he was really talking about his attacker but himself. And him wishing his attacker a chance of turning his life around... I think he was speaking that from first hand expierence and what he wished people would do for him. If that makes sense. Yeah. The whole thing seems really disgeniuine and opportunistic. In a way he is downplaying what he did. And the scary part is that he is rhetorically pretty gifted and might sound convincing to some of his audience... I am glad you covered that story because I read about it on Twitter or x or whatever it is called now... I really didn't want to look into this myself.

He's already been caught spouting racist idealogies through the attack that happened to him and using it to gain sympathy points, on top of being caught lying about the crime he committed. He hasn't changed, he found a bunch of idiots to grift. Now watch the idiots who fell for it get mad at this comment. 😂

If I was a school shooter that was recovering mentally as an adult and was able to heal my trauma I would be terrified to show my face to anyone because of what I had done. The fact that this dude is so comfortable sharing his story and face on tiktok gives me mixed emotions. My gut is leaning toward he’s either dumb or wants attention that he still was lacking as a child

People who do stuff like this should rot in prison. They don't deserve to have the life of a civilian after attempting and/or successfully killing fellow kids.

Maybe it's because I now know that he is lying about his intent when he arrived at the school, but how he speaks rubs me the wrong way. His tone, cadence, and inflections are so disingenuous to me and are giving me some major ick.

This man kept popping up on mine and everyone’s fyp this week… he made himself look like such a victim. I never even looked into the case

school shooter tok is crazy 😭😭😭

i can understand making a few videos about his perspective, but like the fact that its like all he posts about is :\\\ especially since it's monetized

I’m an avid listener of This Is Actually Happening and heard his episode a couple weeks ago and thought that was that. I think it’s good to hear people’s stories from the other side but I had no idea he was going on TikTok with all of this stuff. It does make me wonder if there’s a motive

Yeah, he also pinged my bullshit meter. His anger when he talked about the people he "helped" because "what can I do for the people I actually hurt?! Nothing!" was... unpleasant. And untrue, I imagine. I am also suspicious of people who help visibly at risk populations and then make a big deal of their virtuousness. He should work with, as you say, therapists or other mental health professionals and lawmakers to help ensure this shit is not going to keep happening. Honestly, law enforcement is the last on the list for me as far as prevention goes; they aren't designed to prevent jack shit, just deescalate at the most. He should *never* be the face of any campaign, news story, documentary, etc. as a first recourse. Media should be the last on the list. He should be an addendum to any research or just someone referred to to qualify someone's data. That's how you make a difference without getting all eyes on you. I mean, he's already had all eyes on him once. Look what he did with it.

I hated watching his first ticktock. Sounds like BS, looking for sympathy, and making excuses for his actions…

I don’t want people to feel sorry for me “ bro stop the fake 🐊 tears

I go between rage for this man and the concept of him paying his dues to society for 17 years and letting him try and make better what he did by speaking out. It's not my job to forgive him by any means. I fully agree that tiktok isn't the place for him at all. Just my two cents. (Also i don't trust him as far as i can throw him. Not one bit.)

As someone who was so relentlessly bullied that I fantasized about becoming a school pewpewer. It's not entirely about mental health. A level of self-control is to be considered. I saw the tiktok you showed on my fyp & immediately thought it was really strange. It felt really inauthentic.

Couple of Points: 1. Monorities aren't allowed to have "bad days" or "mental health struggles" we do, especially bc of all the societal bullying, but, we can't act on it without SEVERE consequences, meanwhile yt male attackers get such gentle treatment...it's such a double standard. 2. Bringing a gun means he acknowledges that he has a lethal weapon that could kill someone so even if someone got shot by accident he knew there was a chance. 3. I'm don't understand sui* ppl who also feel the need to K innocents along w their death. I understand sui* feelings but, even wanting to K someone who abused him, but wanting to sh00t randoms??? Why? Just Why??? 4. I feel very similar sentiments about talks by reformed neo nazis. The egregious damage and pain they have caused families, lives that can never be brought back, that weight, deserves no redemption 5. Completely agree. Anger is good and a step to acknowleging the injustice. 6. That intro w him being victimized was so unecessary. His tone of voice gives inauthenticity. This is gross. He's profiting and basking in the spotlight 7. If I were admin of a school I would not allow a former SCHOOL SHOOTER in my SCHOOL??? Like huh? If I were a parent I'd be so disturbed. 8. Mental Health is not an excuse for murd3r But yea, you said it already. I love your videos. I agree with everything u said!!!

"school shooter tok" made me GROAN. what have we come to.

Not sure why but he reminds me of Ashton Kutcher which is kinda creeping me out

Why was he released in the first place? Why always the "white privilege" race card?

I would be very interested to hear what people that survived from his shooting and other school shootings think of him.

I feel like it’s one thing to talk earnestly about your experience as a rehabilitated criminal and talk about where things went wrong and how others can avoid going down the same path, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. If he really is talking to schools and shit about what happened and how to prevent cases like his in the future, great, but the tiktoks just feel unnecessary

Another gross attention-seeker on Tik Tok. That place is a cesspool. Thank you for another great video, I always appreciate your perspective. Hope you’re doing well and taking good care of yourself 🌸

🦉“When you find what you love you'll never work a day in your life.” ⚖️🐜

We recently has a case in denmark, where a guy shot up a mall, its very rare that we have shootings but occasionally it happens… He was in the middle of a psychotic break, he had gone off his meds because the government had stopped paying. For 50 minutes before the shooting he was waiting on a helpline, just wanting someone who convince him not to do this. That man was deeply sick… I think i heard some roman saying once upon a time, something along the line of insanity is punishment enough in itself. I look back on things i’ve done as a teen, that if i had been in a better state of mental health i could have handled better, i just didn’t have the mental capacity for empathy at that point in time, i was spending all my energy on just surviving. Nothing could justify an attempted school shooting, nothing can redeem you. But if i was in his position, i would do everything in my power, to even the scales, work my ass of to at least leave more of a positive footprint on the world. And, maybe he is in a uniquely different position to call attention to what *does* need to change.. Idk, im not a god, i’m not a judge… i hope his victims has found peace and have learned to live with their trauma, but i also hope he has. Im danish, and our justice system is focused on rehabilitation.

"I don't think the elephant in the room is here with us, it does not exist" needs to be on a t-shirt. I'd even design it for you Giulia

You just taught me the word 'Columbiners' & I immediately wish I could unlearn that this is a thing 🤯

The way he speaks/his expressions feels so curated and practicied

If he went there with the intention not to shoot he is not like the most shooters so basically his motivations are different = his experience isn't bringing much to the table

He's trying to gas light the fuck out of us. Wtfffff. I cannot process this, it's hurting my brain.

I also want to say as someone who is on TikTok and saw it play out, no one knew he was a school shooter for a WHILE.

I agree so much. The darkest times for me, were when I didn't care enough. Getting mad has been a key transitional situation for my psyche & for my recovery. Thank you ❤

"Its a book, hes a character, youre kind of like him." How difficult?

Up next in your FYP: "I shot up my high school so you don't have to"

Something about the way he talks really bugs me. Tone, inflection, idk. Just seems insincere (sounds annoying too). I also find it incredibly difficult to believe he’s somehow this huge forgiving person, especially when you get into the reverse racism comments he made regarding the sword attack. Did you happen to see that in your research? The man is trash. I had actually just listened to a podcast he did a week before this all happened, not realizing this man was out of jail and online, and the details in the podcast and his tiktok do not entirely line up. Can’t even keep his own story straight.

Thank you for lranding your voice to this. I habe my opinion on the fact that John Romano is a school shooter who has the chance to turn his life around. But I side eye him platforming himself in a way that makes himself louder than the message he claims to care about. It's often when people do this they slip up. Time will tell and I hope it is a positive ending instead of the typical tragedy.

He calls the victims his victims as if he owns them and it quite frankly makes me absolutely sick

He literally sounds like an actor… I don’t even know how to describe it. It sounds like someone who has memorized a monologue for an audition or something 😖

Thank you for your content ❤❤

He doesn't seem sincere. It's ego. Once again he wants everyone to acknowledge his suffering. It's all about him.

I'm not from the US, but recently in Brazil we had a school shooter event that scared the hell out of us because this is not common here. And honestly? To me this dude sounds like an ego trap. He's going for "the greater good" and he was "so wrong because of loneliness", now that's just some incel thinking process. Yes advocating for mental health is great, yes sharing your point of view certainly help to understand the psychological motivation behind some attacks, but we don't owe him attention, devotion or confidence. And he acts like he should deserve that. Yes he is still looking for validation, to people to see him, but now he thinks he's on the "goodies side", when actually there's just his side on his kind. Nice he went work with mental health communities, but as you said, never paired with mental health PROFESSIONALS, teachers etc. In therapy we often discover that our motives or our way of thinking are not ok, or that we're seeing through a "wrong" perspective, or even, attribuiting to ourselves characteristics that may or may not be true based on what we feel in that specific moment in life. That's what's he's doing and while I think it's important somehow, he's not gonna earn respect and a place in society for doing the bare minimum.

The tone of his voice is so scary. Sounds like bad acting, like he is acting to care and being regretful of his actions but he actually isn't.

it really gave me the ick how he was trying to appear as if he was holding back tears when there was obviously nothing coming

"Alexa play Cry Me A River" I don't believe anything that came out of his mouth, so fake and forced, absolutely disgusting

The sword attacker got more time than the actual school shooter

He shouldn’t be allowed to have access to the internet 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ he should be in jail. This is is vile

Ya this reeks of "i fucked up and i want to be viewed as a good guy."

Okay, "this is actually happening" is fantastic.

When you described him I thought he might be okay and genuine and then i heard him talk...

I’m so glad I’m not the only one that just felt “icky” about the first dude. What bs emotions…

I went to South Colonie High School in New York and I remember this guy from the news as a kid. It was a huge talking point in our area and scared a lot of us kids at the time

ill say this, the only time the us speaks about the idea of bettering mental health counseling in schools or some more gun regulations is after the awful things happen, then it dies down and nothing gets done, all i can hope is that even though he is in the wrong for making content on tiktok, the conversation around these topics stays for more than a week, even if it is because of the drama this caused. i know it probably will stay as just more tiktok drama though, but i hope it starts the conversation to something better and actual change

He also apparently instigated his ‘attack’. It’s wasn’t a hate crime, in the police reports for that he was instigating the guy and caused him to lose his benefits which is why he attacked him. He leaves so much shit out and tries to write a specific narrative because he hasn’t changed, he’s still seeking notoriety and he shouldn’t be allowed to have a platform.

Why is he speaking like he’s giving a bad monologue in drama class? It’s so uncomfortably phony.

I completely agree with everyone who thinks that as sincere as he is being it shouldn't be public, he should still try his best to better himself and give back to the community, but he should do that in silence and not going on TikTok to talk about how he is trying to change. It's just very obvious that he is doing this to garner attention and maybe to see if other people will forgive him so he can forgive himself.

“I was afraid and unable to end myself” So he did it to somebody else instead.

Holy shit... I didn't realize what he was doing was monetized... That's so messed up....

Sorry but this can't be his redemption arc...he did what he did and making psa's isn't gona change that or make him a better person in my eyes

I would like to add some people who like shooters and “bad people” have Hybristophilia. I used to be heavily in it. I was heavily abused, used to it, and started to prefer it. So I was really attracted to criminals in high school, for that reason. It’s hard to understand. I didn’t actually want to kill anyone or have anyone killed. But those I liked, reminded me of past abusers. My Stockholm Syndrome really appreciated it. But keep in mind, this is the case for some.

After talking to him briefly yesterday, im reaffirmed hes a sociopathic egotistical liar

He's making himself the victim, gross.

the way his forcing his voice to a calm almost narrators tone i low-key fucking hate it from him, its like he’s trying to seem calm, collected and as a victim.

Ngl this is probably the first time I’ve ever disagreed with you. (That being said I agree with 99% of this video) but the part about not wanting to listen to him about how the system is broken. I believe that listening to people who have been failed by the system is the most important thing we can do. I don’t know if there is anything more important in a situation like this than hearing a school shooter himself call out lawmakers for not doing enough.

I just need to know where you got that t-shirt because I need it, it looks really good on you!

he sounds so so SO fake... like a mediocre actor doing a monologue.

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher school of apology video. Hard to bear.