The lone attacker

Bad people are finding new ways to hurt others, and it’s hard to stop them

On New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, a man drove his car into a crowded street and killed 15 people. This shows that even with lots of security—like sniffer dogs and cameras—it’s still hard to stop attacks when ordinary things, like cars, are used as weapons.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2016, a man drove a big truck into a crowd in Nice, France, killing 86 people. That same year, another person drove a truck into a Christmas market in Germany, killing 12. Just recently, there were two similar attacks—one in Germany and one in New Orleans.

Some people might blame these attacks on religion, but it’s not about faith—it’s about dangerous ideas, like terrorism. For example, one attacker in Germany was not even religious. Another attacker in New Orleans was a U.S. Army veteran, but he still hurt people. The truck he used had a black flag linked to a terrorist group, showing how bad ideas can spread.

Attacks like these can make people angry and blame others unfairly, especially people who look or act differently. This can lead to even more hate and fear, which doesn’t help anyone.

A long time ago, in 2001, the U.S. made its security stronger after a big attack. But now, even with better security, stopping cars used as weapons is really hard. The same goes for other countries like India, where there haven’t been big attacks for years, but they need to be ready.

The lesson is clear: everyone needs to stay alert and work together to stop bad ideas before they turn into bad actions.

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