CNN’s Tapper Draws Fire for Pronoun Focus After Minneapolis Church Shooting

Two children were killed and 17 other people were wounded on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The attacker, identified by the FBI as 23-year-old Robin M. Westman — born Robert Paul Westman and legally renamed in 2020 — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities recovered firearms purchased recently and legally, along with writings and videos that investigators say contained anti-Catholic messages, references to past mass shootings and expressions of self-hatred. The FBI is treating the case as an act of domestic terrorism and is reviewing whether it also constitutes a hate crime. During Thursday’s edition of CNN’s “The Lead,” anchor Jake Tapper cited court records showing Westman’s legal name change and told viewers the shooter “identifies as a female” and prefers she/her pronouns. Tapper normally avoids naming mass shooters but said he wanted to clarify the correct form of address amid confusion over the assailant’s identity. Conservative outlets including NewsBusters and The Gateway Pundit accused CNN of prioritising pronoun usage over coverage of the victims. Similar criticism was levelled at Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara after he referred to the shooter with gender-neutral pronouns during a press briefing. Investigators are analysing a manifesto, marked gun magazines and online posts attributed to Westman, which reportedly carried slogans such as “Where is your God?” and listed the names of previous mass killers. No formal motive has been released, and the inquiry into the attack and the shooter’s background continues.