Fact Check: Debunking the Misinformation about the Uvalde Texas Shooter
False
A few days after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Congressman Paul Gosar, who represents Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, claimed that the shooter was “a transsexual leftist illegal alien named Salvatore Ramos,” a false claim based on zero evidence.
A Tweet from Representative Paul Gosar that reads: “We know already fool. It’s a transsexual leftist illegal alien named Salvator Ramos. It’s apparently your kind of trash.”
On May 25, 2022, Representative Paul Gosar claimed that the mass shooter who killed nineteen students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, was “a transsexual leftist illegal alien named Salvatore Ramos.”
The shooter is actually an 18-year-old U.S. citizen named Salvador Rolando Ramos.
As of July 2021, 81.9% of Uvalde’s city population identify as Hispanic. Gosar has made
Ramos, was confirmed to be a U.S. citizen by several sources, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez who represents Uvalde and sourced the citizenship status of the shooter through the Texas Department of Public Safety.
While the gender identity of the shooter has never been confirmed, the rumor seemingly emerged from an anonymous poster in the “Politically Incorrect” channel on 4Chan, an imageboard often at the center of several Internet controversies. The poster incorrectly identifies a transwoman as the shooter, who was confirmed not be Ramos.
The political leanings of the shooter also have never been confirmed.
In summary, Salvador Ramos was a U.S. citizen whose political leanings and sexual identity were never confirmed.
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References and Further Reading:
Travis Caldwell, Seán Federico-O'Murchú, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, CNN. May 25 Texas shooting news. 26 May 2022.
U.S. Census. QuickFacts: Uvalde City, Texas; Uvalde County, Texas
Caitlin Dewey. The Washington Post. Absolutely everything you need to know to understand 4chan, the Internet's own bogeyman. 25 September 2014.
Tim Dickinson. Rollingstone. From 4Chan to Congress: How a Hateful Anti-Trans Lie About the Uvalde Shooter Went Viral. 25 May 2022.
Ciara O'Rourke. Poynter. Fact-checking misinformation about the Uvalde, Texas, school shooter. 26 May 2022.
Kate Peterson. USA Today. Fact check: Texas elementary school shooting suspect, Salvador Ramos, was a US citizen. 31 May 2022.
