"Ohio Machete Attacker Acted On His Own, Police Say"

NBC News-  A machete-wielding man who slashed four people in an Ohio restaurant and was later killed by police apparently acted on his own but a motive is still unknown, police said Friday. 

Columbus police called in the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to look into Thursday's bloody attack, which ended with police fatally shooting 30-year-old Mohamed Barry after a five-mile car chase. 

"Based on the nature of the assault, we believed it prudent to bring in federal partners," Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said. "We believed he acted alone ... I'm not aware that we have any known history with the suspect." 

Investigators are looking into whether Barry attacked the restaurant in the mistaken belief that owner Hany Baransi was Jewish, sources told NBC News. He is actually an Arab Christian from Haifa, Israel.

I am not here to tell the details about some random Arabic dude whose mind went off the rails as he decided to go full 'Zorro' on a couple people based on the assumption they were Jewish. Super weird to not even find out a person's set of beliefs before dissecting them for it, but that's neither here nor there. My real issue is with the headline, that I took word-for-word from NBC "news". Four people get slashed in an Ohio restaurant and the most notable part of the story is that the guy acted alone? OF COURSE HE ACTED ALONE!!! Machete guys don't work well with others. I don't think I have ever seen anyone -not on a television screen- wielding a machete, but I KNOW I have never seen two people wielding machetes at the same damn time. It takes a pretty significant hero complex to carry out your unjust violence with a foot long sword, and as a rule of thumb fraudulent heroes generally don't like to share the spotlight. Listen, his motive may have been religious in nature, but let's not rule out the fact that anyone who owns a machete is far more prone to using it for evil. It's not like having a gun where you can take it to shooting range. There's really no good use for a machete once you own it unless you decide to wander through the depths of the rainforest or you go to dinner with the intent of stabbing a bunch of people at a gyro joint. Every single person that's not a maintenance worker at 'Jurassic Park', the guy that doing the 'Indiana Jones' stunts at Disney World, or Steven Seagal should be monitored closely upon purchasing a machete. They likely don't have too many friends, far too much time on their hands, and some extremely questionable ideas on how to waste it.