The liberal media rushed to blame the tragic Nashville, Tennessee, shooting on Republicans and Second Amendment supporters after six students and staff members were killed at a private Christian school.
28-year-old Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender, opened fire at the Covenant School in Nashville Monday. Hale was shot dead by police, and some of the assailant’s writings were found in a nearby vehicle that revealed the attack was “calculated and planned.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, The Washington Post published an article about the shooting that connected one GOP congressman’s support for firearms to the tragic attack.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: OFFICERS WHO TOOK OUT SUSPECTED COVENANT SHOOTER IDENTIFIED
Memorials for the six victims who were killed in a mass shooting are placed outside of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. On Monday, three adults and three children were killed inside the school. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
The Post story on Rep. Andrew Ogles, R-Tenn., whose district was directly affected by the shooting, pointed to a photo of the freshman congressman with his family all posing with guns for a Christmas card. The article cast him as a “strong proponent of the Second Amendment and gun ownership,” before quoting directly from his campaign website:
“Disarming the people is the most effective way to enslave them, and we must remain vigilant when anyone seeks to erode our civil liberties. The rights of the people to keep and bear arms, protect themselves and their families, and prevent tyrannical rule is a fundamental liberty of our constitutional republic.”
A Twitter account tied to the newspaper tweeted the article with the text, “GOP congressman from Nashville district ‘heartbroken’ by shooting. A 2021 photo shows his family with firearms,” but it was subsequently deleted.
The Washington Post did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., was criticized for a Christmas photo of him and his family posing with firearms. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former Democratic senator turned NBC analyst Claire McCaskill also targeted Rep. Ogles for his Christmas card.
“This is the congressman who represents the school where the children were slaughtered this morning. I’m sure he will have thoughts and prayers,” she tweeted.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: TENNESSEE REP. BURCHETT CALLS FOR RELEASE OF TRANS SHOOTER’S MANIFESTO
AFP White House correspondent Sebastian Smith likewise seized on the opportunity to attack Ogles in a tweet Monday night.
“Rep. Ogles is tweeting ‘thoughts and prayers’ as a reaction to the gunning down of children by a child armed with several firearms at the Nashville private school today. He apparently knows a lot about firearms, judging by the Christmas family pic he distributed,” he wrote.
Rep. Ogles did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shooter event that took place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn. Monday, March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)
An MSNBC opinion columnist also jumped into the fray after the Nashville shooting with a piece headlined, “The gap between GOP gun rights fantasy and Nashville’s reality.”
The writer argued that Republican support for “high-minded talk about ‘constitutional carry’ hides how many arguments about gun rights are really about the right to look ‘cool.’”
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace claimed that Republicans “who wear AR-15 style pins on their lapels” have an “enthusiasm” for “gun culture,” in a segment from Monday flagged by NewsBusters’ Managing Editor Curtis Houck.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
