NBC News drew backlash from conservatives over its Tuesday report claiming the transgender community was living in “fear” after the previous day’s Nashville, Tennessee, school shooting.
Police confirmed that the shooter, Audrey Hale, identified as transgender and used masculine pronouns. The day after the shooting, NBC News published an article with the headline “Fear pervades Tennessee’s trans community amid focus on Nashville shooter’s gender identity.”
The article focused on a trending hashtag “#TransTerrorism” and Republican lawmakers who pointed out that Hale was transgender and suffered from mental illness. After quoting several transgender people and activists who said they were afraid of violent reprisals, the piece accused state lawmakers across the U.S. of “targeting” transgender people by banning sex-change procedures and drag shows for minors.
Conservatives slammed the outlet for suggesting that transgender people were the real victims in this scenario. Six people, including three nine-year-olds were murdered before police arrived and killed the shooter. (RELATED: Nashville Police Chief Says Trans Shooter Was Under Doctor’s Care For ‘Emotional Disorder’)
“This is trans privilege in a nutshell. Even when they massacre children they’re still the victim,” Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh tweeted Tuesday.
This is trans privilege in a nutshell. Even when they massacre children they’re still the victim. https://t.co/OiFofunejC
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 29, 2023
Transgender mass shooter kills six people, but @NBCNews is more concerned that trans people in Nashville are “scared” now that the media can’t hide the truth about the killer’s trans identity.
Unreal. Despicable. Evil. https://t.co/c62HZp3KT5
— Rob Smith 🇺🇸 (@robsmithonline) March 29, 2023
Nobody is killing trans people but there’s been multiple mass shootings by trans people 🤔 https://t.co/oDK2MMEwTh
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) March 29, 2023
Trans radical murders Christian children.
Trans activists most affected.#EnemyofthePeople https://t.co/P8AL6BYTMw
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) March 29, 2023
Trans person murders Christian school children.
Media: But how does this affect trans people? https://t.co/4xB3fuMjwv
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 29, 2023
Always be the victim.
Even when there ARE ACTUAL VICTIMS, INCLUDING THREE 9-YEAR OLDS! https://t.co/FIIlsXDPkq
— Ian Prior (@iandprior) March 29, 2023
Putting everything else aside: Those with gender dysphoria are also far more likely to be dealing with depression & anxiety. Promoting false claims that they are about to be targeted and should fear for their lives is dangerous, irresponsible, & harmful. https://t.co/8At5bbfmpD
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 29, 2023
Instead of focusing on the Christians who were actually killed yesterday, let’s talk about the danger of this imaginary thing instead https://t.co/NY7UvNS7el
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) March 29, 2023
Trans activists criticized conservative groups and Christians over the shooting, and claimed that Hale is a victim. Eli Erlick, a Ph.D. candidate in feminist studies at the University of California, described the private Christian school Hale targeted as a “right-wing institution” and claimed that Hale was likely abused while attending the school in the mid-2000s. The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement arguing that transgender people are likely to be victims the perpetrators.
CNN quietly stealth edited a headline to remove the word “woman” from its headline after learning Hale identified as trans, and The New York Times issued an apology for allegedly misgendering the shooter.