The recent school shooting in Tacloban City, Philippines, has drawn renewed attention to the dangers of online extremist networks.
The connection comes after a Senate inquiry pointed to the possible influence of the “764” network on the two minor suspects.
The probe into the June 22 school shooting, which rattled the whole country, has pointed towards an “online nihilistic violent extremist (NVE)” group, which uses online gaming and social platforms to target vulnerable minors.
The group allegedly brainwashes minors into committing dark and harmful acts, according to Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of the committee on women and children.
What is the 764 group?
The extremist network 764 was founded in Texas and has been designated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a “national security threat,” the senator said.
It has also been classified by the Canadian government as a terrorist group.
It uses platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft and Gorebox to pick their targets.
“According to the FBI, the leaders of the group are luring victims to create graphic pornography, to harm family pets, to cut themselves with sharp objects, or to even die by suicide,” Hontiveros explained.
“How? They first befriend their targets and give them a sense of belonging, making them feel they have a place before leading them into darker and more dangerous acts.”
The Philippine National Police revealed that 24 minors have already been rescued thus far from the 764 network’s impact.
The children who were saved are all members of the “True Crime Community,” where they discuss and post about violent extremism, according to Col Richmond Tadina of the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group.
They identified the “No Lives Matter” and “764 Network” as online subcultures that promote or circulate content related to coercion, self-harm, the exploitation of minors and violence.
READ MORE: Bullying-related grudge led two students to a fatal school shooting in Tacloban
KMFDM shirt fuels online speculation
One of the minor suspects in the Tacloban shooting, identified by the alias “Nash,” posted a photo of himself on Facebook wearing a shirt bearing the logo of the German industrial rock band KMFDM.
Speculations on social media intensified after users pointed out that the same band’s shirt was worn by one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre, Eric Harris, in 1999.
Similar claims also noted that Natalie Lynn Rupnow, who carried out a school shooting in 2024, wore a similar shirt.
“While the KMFDM band is not involved in 764, many members of communities like 764 use that shirt to glorify the Columbine killer,” Hontiveros said.
Meanwhile, Department of Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez acknowledged the possibility that the Tacloban shooting on June 23 was connected to NVE.
“So there are also possibilities we’re looking into if it’s a form of extremism, specifically NVE or nihilistic violent extremism,” Martinez said, as reported by the Philippine News Agency.
Possible grooming suspected
In a hearing on Wednesday, Hontiveros disclosed that the two young suspects in the school shooting may have been recruited by an “adult groomer” with a possible connection to the 764 group.
She said independent investigators tracked down a Facebook account under the pseudonym “Sedykh Ryazanov,” which is thought to be owned by the alleged groomer.
After the incident, the “adult groomer” instructed Nash on social media to remove his digital traces.
“I’ve already edited you out on TikTok, boy. Make sure you’ve deleted Discord, Reddit, and Telegram so they won’t find any evidence,” the account said in Filipino, in a screenshot shown during the session.
Moreover, Hontiveros said that the only friend in Nash’s account was a “dummy” profile called “Date Larping.”
She added that members of the same NVE network were able to spread posts that seemed to support the attack through this account.
“Meaning, there are real people behind these profiles,” she said.
MORE INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Malaysia closes cross-border child abuse loophole with new law
Senate calls for online safeguards for minors
The shooting incident has renewed calls for stronger protection for children online, especially in gaming and social spaces.
“Young people, because they are impressionable and still do not have full capacity for impulse control, for regulating their emotions or even the ability to fully consider long-term consequences, become more susceptible and vulnerable to these influences,” Child psychologist Liane Alampay said during the hearing.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros explained that extremist online communities share materials on sextortion and other dangerous activities that can be used to manipulate vulnerable minors.
“Within the group, there are materials on sextortion, or threats involving sexual images. There are also materials related to making weapons or explosives, among other dangerous activities,” she said.
“The hard part is when children do not feel respect and belonging in real life, those gaps can be filled by malicious online communities – with heavy consequences: in obedience, in inflicting harm, and sometimes, in violence.”
She also stressed that she does not want a total ban on online gaming.
The statement came after her invitation to the Gorebox developer to attend the Senate hearing (which the developer declined), as well as the increasing discourse on video games’ role in the recent violence.
“The games or the gaming community are not the enemy. This is about the dangers that children can face while playing and communicating online,” she said.
The senator then clarified that the information revealed during the probe should not be taken as definitive proof.
READ NEXT: Vietnam achieves upper-middle income status: World Bank
Ian Trinidad 
Gabrielle Wilkinson 
Adam Peaker