A suicide attack is an attack in which the attacker ( '' attacker '' being either an individual or a group ) intends to kill others and intends to die in the process of doing so ( e.g. Columbine , Virginia Tech and 9/11 ) . In a suicide attack in the strictest sense , the attacker dies by the attack itself , for example in an explosion or crash caused by the attacker . The term is sometimes loosely applied to an incident in which the intention of the attacker is not clear , though he is almost sure to die by the defense or retaliation of the attacked party , e.g. , " suicide by cop " , that is , menacing or assaulting an armed police officer with a weapon or apparent or proclaimed harmful intent which all but ensures that the officer will use deadly force to terminate the attack . This can also be referred to as murder-suicide
Columbine
Columbine High School massacre
Suicide methods