U.S. right uses Nashville tragedy to inflame anti-trans tensions

As Tennessee was mourning those killed in a mass shooting at a Christian school this week, speculation about the killer’s gender identity was quickly weaponized in an ongoing battle against transgender and LGBTQ rights.

Police killed the shooter approximately 14 minutes after a 911 call from The Covenant School in Nashville, where three nine-year-old and three school staff members were gunned down Monday morning. 

Speaking with media hours later, Nashville’s police chief said the killer, Audrey Hale, was transgender and suggested the 28-year-old’s gender identity may have some connection to a motive and a purported manifesto left behind. The shooter’s gender identity has never been verified and