The 17-year-old suspect from Garwood — a son of a retired police officer and the nephew of the Westfield police chief — was charged Wednesday with the first-degree murders of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas.
Relatives of Niiotis said the teen had been stalking her for months — something the teen suspect acknowledged on livestreams of his MLB co-op games, which attracted thousands of followers on TikTok.
The alt-right is certainly targeting men, so it is correlated, but I think it’s important to note that these girls were targeted because of their gender first and foremost. The ‘Charlie Kirk’ aspect was just the excuse provided by the perpetrator. There’s a deeper issue at play and should be acknowledged.
I’ve never been truly stalked before, but I started working early and naively had a picture on OKCupid (when it was new and all the rage) when I was 18. I had a guy I never actually talked to show up at my work and seek me out. I was 18 and dumb, but I’m glad I learned that lesson. It could have been so much worse.