Monday's brazen daytime shooting in Montreal, which left a police officer and an innocent bystander dead, has shocked Canada and prompted a deep analysis of the killer's motives. Western University criminology professor and former police officer Michael Arntfield has examined the suspected killer Seth Scott Hatfield's 104-page manifesto and drawn comparisons to the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski.
Manifesto Lacks Traditional Incel Language
Arntfield noted that Hatfield's manifesto lambasts Jews, women, and pornography, along with a multitude of other grievances. However, it lacks the typical incel buzzwords such as "Chad" and "Stacy," which are common in manifestos linked to the incel movement. "It doesn't have the traditional incel words, known as metonyms, like 'Chad' and 'Stacy,' he eschews that and uses more neutral language," Arntfield told the Toronto Sun. "This then raises the question whether the purported incel adherence is more of a false flag — albeit just as dangerous."
Arntfield, who authored a book on manifestos and trained law enforcement on the incel movement, described Hatfield as a "general salad bar hater" with a wide array of perceived adversaries, similar to Kaczynski, who murdered three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995.
AI-Augmented Rant and Genocidal Tone
Arntfield stated that the treatise was "clearly augmented by AI, if not written mostly by AI, given all of the usual stylistic and editorial markers." He argued that the manifesto is ultimately a genocidal document. "He's calling for the mass execution of criminals, but he's also trying to give the impression he's legitimate with footnotes, annotations and academic-style citations," Arntfield said. "He's talking about a new world order and faux intellectualizes his ideas."
Hatfield's contradictory views include calling for death squads of former cops and military personnel to "clean up scum," while also harboring deep antipathy toward law enforcement. Arntfield noted that the shooter is more of an "injustice collector writ large" than an incel, accumulating a wide range of grievances against a broad cross-section of society.
Comparison to Unabomber and Other Killers
Arntfield compared Hatfield's manifesto to Kaczynski's, which also called for a new world order and discussed economic policy. "Anyone he could and would blame for having a sub-optimal life. That makes the Montreal shooter more like Kaczynski," Arntfield said. He added that the manifesto lacks references to other incel attacks, such as those in Toronto and Vancouver, or to Elliot Rodger, who is often cited as an inspiration by incel killers.
The criminologist emphasized that the combination of disordered fantasy, malignant narcissism, and intellectual imposterism can lead to tragedy, as seen in the senseless loss of life, including that of a dedicated police officer, as part of a malcontent's vanity project.
