BUFFALO, N.Y. — Coming up on two weeks since the mass shooting in Buffalo, we’re looking at the danger of the ideas that fueled the alleged shooter’s violence.

He allegedly discussed racially-charged conspiracy theories and drove hours to get here, but these ideas are spreading quickly and they pose a unique threat.

This country has no shortage of hate groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 35 of them in New York state alone — including multiple in Western New York.

These are groups we know the names of, whether they’re made of one person or 100. What we’re seeing more of now are people who aren’t a part of any specific group, but all have the same dangerous ideologies.

They are so-called “lone wolves,” just like the alleged Buffalo shooter — just harder to track down.

“They're violent, and they are radicalized typically online," said Jonathan Lacey, a retired FBI agent and the principal of Security and Training Solutions LLC. "That's what prevents presents such a challenge.”

Lacey worked for the FBI, including in Buffalo, for more than 20 years.

He worked on several mass shooting scenes and knows the threat white supremacy poses is life-threatening.

“What those people are called is racially motivated, violent extremists,” he explained.

Last year, FBI director Christopher Wray labeled these extremists the largest terrorism threat to the U.S.

Between the internet acting as a breeding ground for these ideologies and their lack of organization, it’s hard to track them down.

“Hate groups are still alive and well, but they know that by having a decentralized structure, they can avoid law enforcement," Lacey explained. "They encourage individuals to take actions that would subvert the best efforts of law enforcement.”

The manifesto allegedly belonging to the Tops shooter made references to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, something other mass shooters believed as well.

“All they have to do, the peddlers of this venom, is hook one lost soul with their hateful idea and they're off to the races,” Lacey said.

Just like how the Buffalo suspect allegedly drew inspiration from other mass shooters, including the Christchurch shooter, Lacey says this tragedy might also serve as some sort of sick guide for others.

“They learn from the successes and failures of their predecessors and they try to be more effective at killing people,” said Lacey.

This hatred pointed at a certain group, whether Black Americans, Muslims, Jews or others, is only growing.

“If history is a guide, this is most certainly not the last such incident,” said Lacey.

It’s also not limited to certain locations.

“It just seems logical that we'd expect there to be people pretty much anywhere that subscribe to these hateful racist ideologies,” added Lacey.

Without legislation to try to curb extremist violence, or social media cracking down on hate speech, Lacey says a big burden is on people reporting their suspicions.

In the alleged Buffalo shooter’s case, the combination of his recent purchase of firearms and alleged hate speech are all red flags.

“You would much rather report that and have it be nothing, than not report it and wish you had after an attack like what we just had happened,” explained Lacey.

Lacey also mentioned that many of these shooters choose soft targets like retail, grocery stores and other places of business.

That makes it more difficult for law enforcement.

If you add security to one spot, who’s to say a potential shooter won’t just find a less secure mass gathering.

With the difficulty in tracking these lone cells, and with the violence we’ve seen nationwide, it can feel difficult not to live in fear, but the best thing you can do is try to be prepared.

One thing Lacey mentioned is that it’s like flying: airplane crashes are highly unlikely, but every time you fly, you still go through what to do in case of an emergency so that you’re prepared.

It's the same with this.

Be situationally aware and don’t be stuck always staring at your phone.

Those few seconds when you think, “oh, maybe those are fireworks,” could make a huge difference.

Know where the exits are, and that it might not be a door: your exit could be a window.

Finally, rules of civility go out the window when bullets fly. If a door says employees only, don’t hesitate to go through it.

Do what you need to survive and remember these three words: Run. Hide. Fight.