Places are symbolic, often institutions by which the perpetrator feels betrayed, excluded, or neglected: school, community, religion, government, society, etc.

As to why figureheads, authorities, owners/elites, and similarly logical representatives are less common targets, I suspect it’s the same reason why smaller acts of violence often target the innocent: primal dynamics behind the cycle of abuse. The hurt/abused are made to feel weak and associate abuse with strength. Unless the original abuser is perceived as newly vulnerable, a weaker target is then sought, and the abuse is perpetuated rather than reciprocated.

It’s helpful to bear in mind, because the most common forms of perpetuated abuse are subtle enough to go unnoticed by most, including various microaggressions, exclusive body language, backhanded compliments, contrarian and adversarial mannerisms, etc. More noticeable are things like verbal insults or threats, bullying, theft, vandalism, and the like, but these are often treated as isolated behavioral problems. Acts of physical violence are of course most noticeable, but are usually preceded by other signs. Anyway, if you notice someone is hurting, or you are hurt yourself, don’t ignore it. We must look out for each other.