Houston police have not mentioned terrorism as a motive for Monday's shooting rampage in southwest Houston.
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James Conway, director of Global Intel Services and a former FBI agent said looking for those links often delays investigators in answering whether or not an incident has ties to terror.
He said investigators typically go through a suspect's communications to see if there are connections to terror groups.
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According to Conway, violent crimes can be "terroristic", but are only generally considered "terrorism" when they include the following components: acts of violence that target innocent people, and a shooter's motives must be ideological.
"There has to be the component of an ideology, whether it's political, social or economically," Conway said. "That's what separates an outburst of rage from (terrorism)."