With the Parkland shooting occurring only months ago, and a suspect being arrested in the infamous Golden State Killer case this April, the true crime community is as active as ever.

The true crime community (also known as the TCC) is a group that largely resides on Tumblr, and is centered around what the name suggests. The members have entire blogs dedicated to picking apart murders, mass shootings, serial killers— you name it. Essentially, the community can be split into three general groups. The first are intrigued by the psychology and criminology of the cases, gathering facts and partaking in “educational” discussion only. The second romanticize the criminals, be it a serial killer, school shooter, or rapist-murderer. They photoshop flower crowns onto their mugshots, write fan fiction, and idolize them the way some teenage girls dream of their favorite boyband. Though the initial two sub-communities may be jarring and disgusting to someone unfamiliar with this strange corner of the internet, they are relatively harmless in comparison to the third.

The final group, though only taking up a small proportion of the TCC, are the most terrifying. Some disguise themselves as a member of the two former groups, bringing up their desires to kill under the rouse of jokes, and haphazardly signing “I do not condone” at the end of edgier posts. Others flaunt their homicidal urges, making no effort to camouflage them. This third category is populated with those who look towards true crime for inspiration, sometimes due to feeling a deep connection with the criminals, others just for the chance to go down in history.

James Gamble, going by the URL “shallow-existences” was a frightening example of this section, though his plans were thankfully foiled before they could completely play out. He had dedicated his online presence to the Columbine school shooting, and decided that on Valentine’s Day, he would make his blog a reality. The plan was open fire and commit arson on the Halifax Shopping Center food court with a friend he had met through the community, but when the police were tipped off he committed suicide. Gamble had somewhat of a large online following, with girls often sending him loving messages and swooning over his posts. He posted plenty of red flag content that should have tipped someone off under normal circumstances. However, most of his peers brushed this behavior off as another true crime kid that was acting out and being angsty. In fact, many of the members suffer with darkness, bonding over dismal interests, as they feel like outcasts in life outside of their computer. Sadly, this happens all the time. In this age, technology is especially prominent. Nikolas Cruz of the Parkland shooting posted on social media that he planned to become a “professional school shooter”, but otherwise his actions seemed completely normal the day of the tragedy. Cruz had clearly stated that he wanted to shoot up his school, but nothing was done about it until it was too late.

Not everyone in the True Crime Community plans to kill. In actuality, only an extremely minuscule amount of them do. However, this small number often goes unnoticed amidst the violent vastness of cyberspace, and crimes that could possibly be prevented persevere. 92% of teenagers access the internet on a daily basis. The teenage murder rate in America is ten time larger than in Western Europe, and seventy times larger than in Japan. It is vital that if you see someone planning evil, tell someone. Do not brush it off as a joke. Do not ensure yourself that they don’t mean it. Do not take that risk.