No, the Philadelphia mass shooting suspect is not a transgender person

By: Sam Doak
July 7 2023

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Context

Gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July, five people were killed on Monday in a mass shooting in Kingsessing, a neighborhood in southwest Philadelphia. Authorities later announced that a forty-year-old man had been arrested and charged for his alleged role in the violence.

Shortly after the tragic event, some figures on the right claimed that the alleged perpetrator was a transgender person. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right congresswoman from Georgia, was among such commentators, describing the violence as the actions of “another trans shooter.”

Another Twitter user outlined this narrative in further detail, stating, “Media won’t talk about this, so we will. Transgender shooter was arrested on Monday after shooting & killing five people & injuring two children in Philadelphia. Time to start having a national dialogue on Trans mass shooters that target children. Enough!!” Despite no evidence to substantiate claims that the alleged perpetrator is transgender, this tweet garnered over 8,300 retweets and 9,100 likes. 

While the narrative has been widely repeated, Logically Facts has found no evidence that the alleged shooter is a transgender person.

In Fact

Responding to queries concerning the suspect’s gender identity, officials have denied claims that the accused is transgender. According to NBC News, Asa Khalif of the LGBTQ advisory committee for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office told reporters, “The suspect has not identified themselves as trans. They have only identified themselves as male.” Addressing recent speculation on the matter, Khalif stated, “The language spewed out by the conservative press is violent and is dangerous.”

Claims that the alleged shooter is transgender appear to be wholly based on photographs found on their social media profiles. Two, in particular, show the individual posed in feminine clothing. However, this does not prove that the individual apprehended by police is transgender, as claimed by Greene and others.

Regarding the suspect’s gender identity, their grandmother told The Independent that “her grandson was gay and sometimes enjoyed cross-dressing but had not undergone any gender transition surgery or treatment.”

The Verdict

There is no evidence that the suspect arrested in connection with the recent mass shooting in Pennsylvania is a transgender person. Law enforcement officials and the suspects’ family have denied the claim. This claim has therefore been marked false.