Legacy media outlets are upset that police in Nashville “misidentified” the gender of the biologically female shooter who killed six, including three 9-year-old children, Monday morning at a Christian school.
USA Today wrote in a tweet thread update that “Police on Monday afternoon said that the shooter was a transgender man. Officials had initially misidentified the gender of the shooter.” The New York Times also issued a statement, attempting to clear up “confusion” about the shooter’s gender.
“There was confusion later on Monday about the gender identity of the assailant in the Nashville shooting,” the Times said. “Officials had used ‘she’ and ‘her’ to refer to the suspect, who, according to a social media post and a LinkedIn profile, appeared to identify as a man in recent months.”
The 28-year-old shooter shot and killed three children and three adults at the Covenant School before police responded and exchanged gunfire with the shooter, who was struck and killed around 10:27 a.m. — just 14 minutes after the first call was made to police. Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the shooting was a “targeted attack.”
The shooter was a biological woman who identified as a man. Throughout the day in press conferences and updates, the Metro Nashville Police Department and Police Chief John Drake referred to the shooter as a woman and used her biological female pronouns. The female shooter, however, put “he/him” pronouns on social media, causing legacy media outlets to retroactively issue statements addressing gender identity.
On Monday afternoon, local authorities along with the FBI searched the home of the female shooter. During the search, law enforcement said they found “a manifesto” along with maps of the school drawn in detail that included points of entry. The police chief said authorities have a theory on the shooter’s motive, but they are not ready to share it yet.
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