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Following the Nashville Covenant School shooting, netizens have unsurprisingly developed a keen interest as to who the killer was.
On Monday, police identified the person who opened fire on the elementary school as Audrey Hale. After it was revealed that Hale, who went by he/him pronouns, was transgender, certain people have uploaded their transphobic opinions on social media, including congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Nashville police confirmed that Audrey Hale fatally shot six people at the school, including three children and staff members above the age of 60. The 28-year-old shooter was killed by law enforcement fourteen minutes after they were alerted.
On March 28, Marjorie Taylor Greene took to her official Twitter account and asked netizens to stop blaming guns for mass shootings. She went on to target the killer’s gender identity. Greene said:
“How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking? Everyone can stop blaming guns now.”
In another tweet, Greene said:
In a statement to The Independent, Greene went on to defend her tweet by opining:
“It’s not about their identity. It’s the questions or this is what kind of hormones are they on? What kind of medications are they taking for mental illness? What is causing this aggression in this biological female who identifies as a male for them to go in and murder children?”
Was the Nashville school shooter a biological male?
According to Sky News, Audrey Hale was born female but identified as a transgender male. As per their now-deleted LinkedIn page, Hale went by the pronouns he/him. During a press conference on Monday evening, Nashville Police Chief John Drake addressed Hale’s gender identity. Drake said:
“She does identify as transgender, yes.”
When asked whether Hale’s gender identity must have led to the mass shooting, Drake stated that they could give information on the same “at a later time. There is some theory to that. We’re investigating all the leads.”
Drake also announced that law enforcement was investigating Hale’s manifesto and map related to the shooting.
It must also be noted that Audrey Hale was an alum of the private Christian school. Drake revealed in the press conference that there must have been “some resentment for having to go to that school,” which must have led to the shooting.
Netizens react to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s tweet
Internet users were enraged after hearing the Republican congresswoman’s thoughts on the shooting. Many attacked her relentlessly on social media and repeatedly noted that Hale being transgender must have had nothing to do with the shooting. Several netizens noted that the lack of functional gun reforms led to the massacre.
In a press conference, police also revealed that Hale had no previous record of mental health problems. It was also confirmed that they did not have a past criminal record. Hale was armed with two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol, on the day of the shooting.
The police are now reviewing Hale’s manifesto to analyze why the incident took place.
