Several legacy media outlets expressed discontent that the Nashville police “misidentified” the gender of the biologically female shooter who killed six individuals, including three 9-year-old children, at a Christian school on Monday morning.
USA Today wrote in a tweet thread,“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, meanwhile, also issued a statement that attempted 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 Daily Wire added:
The 28-year-old shooter — whom The Daily Wire will not name in accordance with company policy — 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 identified as a man despite being biologically female. During press conferences and updates, the Metro Nashville Police Department and Drake referred to the shooter as a woman and used feminine pronouns. However, the shooter had identified themselves as male on social media using “he/him” pronouns, leading legacy media outlets to issue statements regarding gender identity after the fact, as if that was the most important aspect of this horrific tragedy.
On Monday afternoon, local authorities, along with the FBI, searched the home of the shooter. During the search, law enforcement discovered “a manifesto” as well as detailed maps of the school that included entry points. The police chief stated that while authorities have a theory regarding the shooter’s motive, they are not yet ready to share it.
The police have identified the six victims, three of whom were 9-year-old children and three who were adults aged 60 years and older.
The Metro Nashville Police Department identified the victims: “Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, age 61, Katherine Koonce, age 60, and Mike Hill, age 61.” Koonce was the head of the Covenant School.
